New Delhi, Dec 15 : President Pratibha Patil today said that government should frame policies and programmes for ensuring welfare of handloom and handicraft artisans who have contributed in preserving and promoting India''s heritage.

After conferring National Awards for Master Craftpersons and Weavers and Shilp Guru Awards here, Patil said, "I would like to suggest that the government could bring in certain policies and programmes, which apart from addressing the developmental needs, should also address welfare concerns of artisans and weavers."

"The handloom and handicraft sectors provide a livelihood to more than 12 million people who need government support in terms of broadening the marketing infrastructure," she added.

She said that the government should provide thrust to training of artisans whose creative skills and talent make them the pride of the nation.

"Artisans and weavers alone cannot glorify the rich cultural heritage of our country. In fact it has to be combined with vision and efforts of all stakeholders. Exporters, entrepreneurs, institutional buyers like large corporates, the travel and tourism industry and retail chain stores in the country can play a constructive role by supporting artisans, by providing them with necessary inputs on markets," she added.

President said, while traditional methods of making the handicraft and handloom products are to be respected and preserved, the new challenges and opportunities thrown by globalisation must be recognised.

"We have to adapt to the changes that are taking place not only within the country but also globally. Modernization in weaving technology, improvement of designs and patterns, up-gradation of skills to ensure quality, supply of quality basic inputs like yarn and eco-friendly dyes will make these products more competitive," she added.

Patil also said that it is a remarkable fact that every part of India has a craft tradition of its own.

"Working on a variety of raw materials ranging from hard objects like stone and metal to soft sandalwood and clay, our craftpersons create objects of great beauty. Be it the great stone sculptures at the Mamallapuram, the Ellora or at the Konark, the world-famous bronzes of the South or the intricate cane and bamboo objects of our states in the Northeast, all of them represent the collective ethos of our civilization, she added.

She said the strength of Indian handicrafts and handloom fabrics can be seen in a diverse range of Kanjivaram of Tamil Nadu, Bandhej of Rajasthan, Kantha and Jamdani of West Bengal, Paithani or Maharashtra, Chanderi of Madhya Pradesh, Pochampalli of Andhra Pradesh, Benarasi of Uttar Pradesh, Ikkat of Orissa and Muga of Assam.

A total of 77 National Awards were distributed to Master Craftpersons and Master Weavers, out of which 13 were joint awards, 16 among the awardees were women.

7 Master Craftpersons were also conferred with the Shilp Guru Award, which is an award for extraordinary and life time contribution of the awardee artisans to the craft as well to the craft community. (ANI)