1.1 crore craft workers earn below min wage

NEW DELHI: Despite employing one in every four workers in manufacturing, the handicrafts and handloom (HH) sector is marred by low productivity, occupational hazards, lack of formalisation, market access including e-commerce and exports, the latest study by the Institute for Human Development (IHD) in collaboration with Crafts Council of India released on Monday showed.

The gross value added (GVA) per worker in the sector was estimated at Rs 270 a day, lower than the minimum wage prescribed by govt, as the HH sector is estimated to employ nearly 1.1 crore people across 65 lakh establishments in the year 2024. "Since most of these establishments are run and operated by a single person, their value added can be taken as their earnings, which is a paltry amount," said GC Manna, professor at IHD.

The primary survey was conducted in five states of Assam, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UP and Bengal based on HH units enumerated in the sixth economic census conducted by NSO in 2013. "The HH establishments of five states together contributed Rs 51,445 crore of annual GVA. In terms of annual GVA per worker, the average for five states was about Rs 84,000 (a year)... which falls well below the prescribed daily minimum wage," the study said.

It found that majority of establishments operated from within the household premises and merely 2.6% establishments across the country employed more than 5 workers, showing the "proprietary" nature of these units, meaning that a single person owns and operates them with more women being proprietors than men. In Rajasthan, the share of women proprietors stood at 94%.

"A significant proportion of handloom establishments remain unregistered under any formal scheme or programme. Further, a very low proportion of HH establishments-maintained accounts. The overall proportion of formally trained artisans and weavers remain low," the official study noted.

The survey also found that half of the handloom units in Tamil Nadu (66%), UP (51%), Assam (50%) and West Bengal (48%) reported decline or stagnation in the scale of production in the past decade.

In Rajasthan, the share stood at 30%. Competition from mass production and copying, lack of skilled workers and space also emerged as major problems being faced by these establishments.

"Use of exhibitions and fairs has been found to be minimal, contrary to held belief. No use was reported of e-commerce or of contract with khadi authorities, export agencies or private companies," the study said. Less than 1% units reported sale of their products through organised fairs and exhibitions in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.