Union Minister Giriraj Singh Presents Handicrafts Exports Awards

The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) organised its 24th Handicrafts Export Awards Function on August 21, at the Convention Hall, The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi. Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh has highlighted the handicrafts sector’s pivotal role in the growth of Indian economy.

Chief guest and others attendees

Shri Giriraj Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Govt. of India, was the Chief Guest at the function and presented the awards in the presence of Guest of Honour Smt. Rachna Shah, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, in the august presence of Shri Rohit Kansal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India; and Smt. Amrit Raj, IPoS, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India.

A total of 123 awards

A total of 123 awards were conferred upon 62 winners of the year 2019-20 and to 61 winners of the year 2020-21, along with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. The Awards, instituted in 1989, are presented across four broad categories: the Top Export Award, Platinum Performer Certificate, Product Group-wise Awards, Woman Entrepreneur Award, Regional Awards and the together totalling to 34 Trophies, 6 Platinum Performer Certificates, 4 Hat-trick Trophy, 57 Merit Certificates, 12 Regional Award, 9 Women Entrepreneur Awards and 1 Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Objectives of these award

The primary objective of these awards is to foster a spirit of healthy competition among exporters.

More about these awards

• The Platinum Performer Award is granted to those who have won the Top Export Award for more than three years.
• The Top Export Award Trophy is presented to the exporter with the highest export performance across all handicraft product categories.
• The Woman Entrepreneur Award is given to organizations led or wholly owned and directed by women.
• Merit Certificates are awarded to those who achieve the second-highest export performance in each category, as well as to those who demonstrate excellent export growth, achieving the highest average export performance over the past three years.
• Regional Awards are determined by the highest export performance within a specific region over the last three years.
• The Hat Trick Award is presented to those who have won the export award trophy three consecutive times. Over the years, these awards have become a coveted recognition within the handicrafts export community, with many striving to secure a place among the awardees.”

What is EPCH?

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is a nodal agency for promoting exports of handicrafts from the Country to various destinations of the world and projecting India’s image abroad as reliable supplier of high quality of handicrafts goods & services. The Handicrafts exports during the year 2023-24 was Rs. 32,759 Crores (US $ 3,956 Million) registering a growth of 9.13% in rupee term & 6.11% in dollar terms over the previous year, further informed by Mr. R.K. Verma, Executive Director-EPCH.