Handloom & handicrafts development council to promote rural artisans

Bhubaneswar: The state government has decided to constitute handloom and handicrafts development and promotion council, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi informed on Thursday.

Following the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at secretariat here, Padhi said, “The cabinet has also cleared the proposal to provide funds to the tune of Rs 20 crore during the current financial year to boost sale of local handloom and handicraft products, besides promoting rural artisans of the state.”

The structure of the council is yet to be finalized, he added.

According to official sources, the headquarters of the council will be in the state capital and it will function under the administrative control of the handlooms, textiles and handicrafts department.

The cabinet also approved a proposal to increase the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Forest Service (OFS) cadre posts keeping in mind the enhanced requirement of manpower post implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the state. The OAS-cadre posts have been enhanced to 1,700 from 1,500, while that of OFS-cadre raised to 800 from 730.

Besides, a proposal regarding promotion of Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) and Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs) was also cleared by the cabinet. From now on, RTO will be a Class-I post while MVI will be a Junior Class-I post.

Further, the cabinet also gave its nod to Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules 2017, the sources added.