Training Programmes under The Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries

The Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) aims at inducing dynamism in clusters of traditional coir industries, across the country over a period of five years. Various initiatives will aim at upgrading traditional skills, introducing improved technologies and processes, and strengthening the local governance system to make the traditional coir industries market-driven, productive, profitable and thus competitive.

Production, employment and revenue potential would perhaps primarily be considered in gauging a sector's growth standards. The traditional industries of India when pitted against these yardsticks fail to bear a promising look. They are in need of urgent intervention. Two primary factors that justify this all the more are-one, they are endowed with advantages whose potential remains unharnessed and, second, in the wake of the present day enterprise favourable environment, there are opportunities galore. In the presence of such preconditions the cluster approach adopted by EDI has proved to be a boon. The turn-around strategies implemented as a part of this approach have raised many a cluster on the fronts of quality, production, marketing, technologies, exports etc. Characterised by promoting unique unionisation among units in the same field, the cluster development interventions of EDI have seen several clusters come a full circle.

On account of its accomplishments, the Institute has been appointed as a technical agency by the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries, Govt. of India, for its Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI). The scheme would function through a mechanism comprising nodal agencies, implementing agencies, technical agencies, Cluster Development Agents (CDA) and other resource persons.

The Institute would assist the nodal agencies namely Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) & Coir Board, in identifying clusters of traditional coir industries. In addition, it would train the Cluster Development Agents (CDAs) and other officials of the Implementing Agencies and Nodal Agencies, in imparting guidance in preparing diagnostic studies and firming up cluster action plans. EDI would also identify and nominate experts in a cluster or a group of clusters.

EDI, as a part of the implementation strategy, regularly organises Zonal Level Orientation Programmes to sensitise officials of KVIC/ KVIBs, to various tools of cluster development approaches.