Parliament Question: Implementation of USTTAD Scheme in Uttar Pradesh

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.776 ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026 IMPLEMENTATION OF USTTAD SCHEME IN UTTAR PRADESH 776. SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ: Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the number of artisans and crafts people trained under the USTTAD scheme since 2020, Craft, State/UT and district-wise particularly for Uttar Pradesh; (b) whether any measures have been taken to ensure sustained employment or market linkages for trained artisans and if so, the details thereof; (c) the total budget sanctioned, allocated, and utilised for the implementation of USTTAD Scheme in the Country during the last five years, State/UT and year-wise particularly in Uttar Pradesh; and (d) whether any steps have been taken to digitally document and promote traditional crafts from minority communities under the scheme and if so, the details and the outcomes thereof, State/UT and year-wise particularly in Uttar Pradesh? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU) (a): USTTAD scheme was launched in 2015 for targeted capacity building and upgrading traditional skills of master craftspersons/ artisans. Under this Scheme, 33% seats were earmarked for women beneficiaries. Training was imparted to more than 21,000 beneficiaries under the scheme and 89% (approx.) of these beneficiaries were women. Besides, the total beneficiaries from Uttar Pradesh were 9,166 under the USTTAD scheme in clusters like Chikankari, Wood Carving, Traditional Embroidery (Zardozi), Munj Craft, Kashidakari and Crewel work. Further, under the USTTAD Scheme, the Ministry of Minority Affairs also on- boarded Knowledge Partners of repute like National Institute of Design(NID), and National Institute of Fashion Technology(NIFT) to conduct design and development workshops for identified traditional art and craft clusters. In Uttar Pradesh, six such clusters were covered, through NID and NIFT, under the said scheme, namely: i. Banaras Brocade – Varanasi ii. Soft Stone – Varanasi iii. Glass Flamework – Firozabad iv. Kamdani – Lucknow v. Chikankari – Lucknow vi. Bone Carving – Lucknow (b): The Ministry had earlier organised 41 Hunar Haats whereby opportunity was given to artisans/craftpersons and culinary experts from across the country including Uttar Pradesh, to showcase and market their handicrafts and indigenous products. These programmes benefitted more than 8 lakh people including artisans, craft persons and associated persons. Out of these 41 Hunar Haats, 9 were organised in Uttar Pradesh at Prayagraj, Lucknow, Rampur, Vrindavan and Agra.USTTAD scheme has now been converged as a component into an integrated scheme called ‘Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan’ (PM VIKAS) for minority communities focusing on skill development; entrepreneurship and leadership development of minority women; and education support for school dropouts. Under the PM VIKAS scheme, Ministry has been organising 'Lok Samvardhan Parv', bringing together minority artisans from across India and assist them to scale up their operations and businesses. The platform offers artisans a unique opportunity to showcase their indigenous arts, crafts, and rich cultural heritage. The event has been designed not only to promote the traditions of minority communities but also to foster an innovative and entrepreneurial environment for artisans. To enhance their skills in areas like marketing, export & online business, design, taxation and sales etc., workshops are conducted by the Ministry, with support from the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), ensuring a holistic approach to empowering their talent and augmentation in their incomes. So far, the Ministry has organised 05 Lok Samvardhan Parvs, in Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala. (c): The USTTAD scheme was implemented as a Central Sector Scheme, therefore, no fund allocation was made to States/ UTs under the scheme, and projects were allocated from the year 2016-17 to 2018-19. Thereafter, only committed liabilities under the USTTAD are being discharged (from FY 2023-24, fund allocation was done for 5 erstwhile schemes combined together under PM VIKAS (Committed Liabilities). The details of expenditure under the USTTAD and PM VIKAS (Committed Liabilities) scheme during the last five years is tabulated below:- (All Amount in Crore) Year 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Schem B R B R B R BE BE R AE AE AE RE AE AE es E E E E E E E USTT 6 6 56. 4 4 76. 4 4 10. 0 0 0 0 0 0 AD 0 0 74 7 7 68 7 7 61 PM VIKA S 249. 215. 209. 244. 20 209. Comm 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 85 98 42 57 0 43 . Liabili ties Further, the USTTAD scheme was later integrated into the PM VIKAS scheme along with other skilling, education and women empowerment schemes and the PM VIKAS scheme was rolled out in Jan 2025. (d): Under the USTTAD scheme, NID and NIFT, as Knowledge Partners identified 35 languishing craft clusters and recorded the history, processes, product ranges, market scenarios along with key challenges and submitted it to the Ministry. The list of identified craft clusters is placed at Annexure 1. Under the scheme, the Ministry also organised HunarHaats for creating market linkages for artisans and craftspersons. Under Hunar Haat opportunity was given to artisans/craftsperson and culinary experts from across the country to showcase and market their handicrafts and indigenous products including the ones stated. HunarHaat generated employment and employment opportunities for artisans, crafts persons and associated persons and has further strengthened their market linkages. So far, 41 HunarHaats have been organized since November 2016, at various locations throughout the country whereby more than 8 lakh artisans, craftspersons and people associated with them have been benefited. The details of Hunar Haats conducted till date is placed at Annexure 2. *****Annexure 1 ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 776 FOR ANSWER ON 04.02.2026 REGARDING ‘IMPLEMENTATION OF USTTAD SCHEME IN UTTAR PRADESH’ ASKED BY SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ Products and Craft Cluster - USTTAD S. Knowledge State Craft Cluster Craft name No Partner 1 Andhra Pradesh NIFT Udayagiri Wooden Cutlery 2 Assam NIFT Golaghat Textiles of Golaghat 3 Bihar NIFT Bhagalpur Bhagalpur Weaving Himachal Dharamshala 4 NIFT Tibetan Carpet Pradesh Jammu & Srinagar 5 NIFT Tilla Embroidery Kashmir 6 Karnataka NIFT Bidar Bidriware 7 Karnataka NIFT Chanapatna Chanapatna Toys 8 Karnataka NIFT Mysore Rosewood Inlay 9 Kerala NIFT Beypore Wooden Ship Making Madhya Maheshwar 10 NIFT Maheshwari Pradesh Madhya Bhopal 11 NIFT BhopaliBatua Pradesh 12 Maharashtra NIFT Mumbai ParsiGara 13 Nagaland NIFT Dimapur Textiles of Nagaland Viswema Woodworks 14 Nagaland NIFT of Nagaland 15 Punjab NIFT Patiala Phulkari 16 Punjab NIFT Malerkotla Tilla and KhosaJutti 17 Rajasthan NIFT Udaipur Applique/Patchwork 18 Rajasthan NIFT Pipar Block Printing 19 Tamil Nadu NIFT Pulicat Palm Leaf Basketry 20 Telangana NIFT Hyderabad Lac Bangles 21 Uttar Pradesh NIFT Varanasi Banaras Brocade 22 Uttar Pradesh NIFT Lucknow Bone Carving 23 Uttar Pradesh NIFT Lucknow Chikankari 24 Uttar Pradesh NIFT Lucknow Kamdani Barasat 25 West Bengal NIFT Kantha and Birbhum 26 Andhra Pradesh NID Nimmalakunta Leather Puppetry 27 Goa NID Panaji Crochet Jammu & Srinagar 28 NID Paper Mache Kashmir Kodungalloor, 29 Kerala NID Thalayolaparambu, Screwpine Weaving Thazhava 30 Ladakh NID Likir, Leh Likir Pottery 31 Manipur NID Nungbi Black Pottery Jandiala Guru Thathera/ Brass and 32 Punjab NID Bronze 33 Rajasthan NID Bikaner Usta Leather craft 34 Uttar Pradesh NID Firozabad Glass Flamework 35 Uttar Pradesh NID Varanasi Soft stoneAnnexure 2 ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (D) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 776 FOR ANSWER ON 04.02.2026 REGARDING ‘IMPLEMENTATION OF USTTAD SCHEME IN UTTAR PRADESH’ ASKED BY SHRI PUSHPENDRA SAROJ List of Hunar Haats conducted till date S.No. Hunar Haat venue State Date India International Trade Fair, New 1 Delhi November, 2016 Delhi 2 Baba Kharak Singh Marg Delhi February, 2017 3 Puducherry Puducherry September, 2017 India International Trade Fair, New 4 Delhi November, 2017 Delhi 5 Islam Gymkhana, Mumbai Maharashtra January, 2018 6 Baba Kharak Singh Marg Delhi February, 2018 7 Prayagraj Uttar Pradesh September, 2018 8 Puducherry Puducherry October, 2018 9 India International Trade Fair Delhi November, 2018 10 BKC, Mumbai Maharashtra December, 2018 11 Baba Kharak Singh Marg, 2019 Delhi January, 2019 12 Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur Rajasthan August-1 Sept. 2019 13 Prayagraj Uttar Pradesh November, 2019 14 India International Trade Fair Delhi November, 2019 15 Ahmedabad Gujrat December, 2019 16 Mumbai Maharashtra December, 2019 17 Lucknow Uttar Pradesh January, 2020 18 Hyderabad Telangana January, 2020 19 Indore Madhya Pradesh February, 2020 20 Ranchi Jharkhand February-March, 2020 21 India Gate Delhi March-2020 22 Dilli Haat Pitampura Delhi November-2020 23 Rampur Uttar Pradesh December-2020 24 Lucknow Uttar Pradesh Jan -Feb 2021 25 Mysuru Karnataka February-2021 26 JLN Delhi Delhi Feb - March 2021 27 Bhopal Madhya Pradesh March-2021 28 Goa Goa March-April 2021 29 Rampur Uttar Pradesh October-2021 30 Dehradun Uttarakhand Oct -Nov 2021 31 Vrindavan Uttar Pradesh November 2021 32 Lucknow Uttar Pradesh November 2021 33 India International Trade Fair Delhi November, 2021 34 Surat Gujarat December, 2021 35 JLN Stadium, New Delhi Delhi Dec 2021- Jan, 2022 36 Puducherry Puducherry February 2022 37 Hyderabad Telangana February- March 2022 38 Guwahati Assam March, 2022 39 Chandigarh Punjab March – April 2022 40 Mumbai Maharashtra April 2022 41 Agra Uttar Pradesh May 2022