Dr Hina review progress on establishment of clusters in Jammu division

JAMMU: Vice Chairperson, J&K Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB), Dr. Hina Shafi Bhat, today reviewed progress on establishment of clusters in Jammu division under Scheme of Funds for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI).

The meeting was attended by Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Farrukh Qazi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Schemes), Muzaffar Abdul Nasir Allaqaband, Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jammu Division, Tilak Raj and other senior officers of KVIB besides representatives from SKUAST Jammu (Technical Agency), J&K ITCO and Implementing Agencies of Masterjee Beekeeping Cluster Samba and Banihal Beekeeping Cluster Ramban.

It was informed in the meeting that three Beekeeping Clusters including Masterjee Beekeeping Cluster district Samba, Kailashkund Sudhmahadev Beekeeping cluster district Doda and Banihal Beekeeping Cluster district Ramban are being established in the division with a project cost of Rs. 4.08 crore.

Vice Chairperson enjoined upon all stakeholders to put in coordinated efforts in getting these clusters functional at an earliest. She reiterated that by making the clusters operational, more than 600 beekeepers associated with these clusters will be benefitted.

Further, she asked the Implementing Agencies and Technical Agency to ensure organization of all the leftover programmes (Training Programmes, Awareness Programmes) under Hard and Soft intervention during the month of May 2023 so that the clusters can be made functional.

Secretary/CEO, J&K KVIB, highlighted that the objective of the cluster is to organize the traditional industries and artisans into clusters so as to make them competitive, provide support for their long term sustainability and enhance marketability of such clusters by providing support for new products, design intervention, improved packaging and also improvement of marketing infrastructure.