New Delhi, Dec 15 : President Pratibha Patil will give away the National Awards and the Shilp Guru Awards to the master craftspersons and weavers here today.

Union Minister for Textiles Shankersinh Vaghela and the Minister of State for Textiles E. V. K. S. Elangovan will also be present on the occasion.

77 National Awards for the year 2005 and 2006 are being conferred to selected master craftspersons and weavers by the President, as a token of recognition to their excellent craftsmanship.

Besides National Awards, 71 craftspersons and weavers have also been selected for National Merit Certificate for the year 2005 and 2006.

For the year 2005, there are 38 National Awards, which will be given away to 44 master craftspersons and master weavers because six are joint awards.

For the year 2006, there are 39 National Awards, which will be given away to 46 master craftspersons and master weavers because seven are joint awards. Each National Award consists of cash prize of Rs. 50,000, Tamrapatra, an Angvastram and a merit certificate.

The National Award is a recognition of the unmatchable innovative skills of the master craftspersons from the handicrafts sector and of the master weavers from handlooms sector, who contribute to preserve and promote our craft heritage and build up a linkage between the past and present.

Seven handicraft artisans have been selected for the Shilp Guru Awards for the year 2006. However, one Shilp Guru Shri Iqbal Ahmed will not attend the ceremony, as he will be out of the country of Haj yatra. Thus, there will be only six recipients for the award.

The Shilp Gurus are given a certificate, a gold coin and a shawl at the time of Award.

The Shilp Guru Award for master craftspersons was introduced during the year 2002 on the occasion of "Golden Jubilee Year of Handicrafts Resurgence in India".

These Awards are being conferred to legendary master craftspersons of handicrafts whose work and dedication have contributed not only to the preservation of rich and diverse craft heritage of the country but also to the resurgence of handicraft sector as a whole. (ANI)