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In a move to further boost Gorakhpur’s terracotta, which earlier remained confined to small villages in the area and has now garnered global attention with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s efforts, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to ensure accessible loans to terracotta craftsmen.

Aiming to fortify the traditional culture and indigenous terracotta crafts of Gorakhpur as well as help it go global, financial assistance will be provided to about 5000 craftsmen, through Punjab and Sind Bank. A meeting in this regard was held between the representatives of the bank and the CM Yogi, in presence of ACS MSME Navneet Sehgal.

During the meeting, a target was worked upon to provide loans of Rs 25 crore to the craftsmen from the bank. The bank will work closely with the Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Uttar Pradesh in this regard.

The chief minister, during the interaction, informed the officials from the bank about the speciality of the soil craft terracotta of Gorakhpur and said that through ODOP, terracotta has gained global recognition and has created numerous employment opportunities.

ACS MSME, Navneet Sehgal, informed the representatives of the bank that realising the vision of ‘self-reliance’ of PM Modi, the state government under the leadership of CM Yogi Adityanath is working assiduously to provide a platform to the indigenous crafts of every district through ODOP, ensuring economic progress and wide-scale employment generation.

Sehgal said that today, the terracotta craftsmen of Gorakhpur are making a thousand types of products for which there is a tremendous demand. Terracotta has also got the GI (Geographical Indication) tag due to the efforts of the government.

ACS MSME further appreciated the Punjab and Sind Bank for coming forward to give loans to terracotta craftsmen and said that this would go a long way in helping the craftsmen to scale their business to new heights.

On the occasion, Dr Ramjas Yadav, Executive Director, Punjab and Sind Bank, said that with the efforts of the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the ODOP scheme has been recognised door-to-door. He expressed happiness over working closely with the MSME department of the state in the direction of providing loans for terracotta craftsmen.

Also Read | UP’s ODOP scheme gets wings, goes global from local

Terracotta products are also available for sale on online platforms of various e-commerce companies. Compared to 2017, the number of people earning employment from terracotta crafts has increased almost ten times.

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