Sustainable economic development and the Indian way of life are in fact two sides of the coin. Over centuries a wide range of small economic activities have grown out of the demand created by the way of life Indians lead for generations. It is the way of life in the Indian subcontinent which ticks a gamut of small economic activities. The way of life kind of economy continues to puzzle most economists and planners who have little opportunity to observe the fine fabrics of economic activities juxtaposed in the society. This creates demand for goods and services on sustainable basis and hardly puts pressure on environment.
India imports nearly 800 tonnes of gold worth $ 10 billion for making high value addition in making ornaments and jewelry. India is the world's largest importer of gold which is one third of gold output of the world. Indian women's unbound love for gold, marriage ceremonies and other kinds of social functions create demand for gold ornaments and jewelry. This has triggered a worldwide demand for finer quality ornaments and jewelry from India. This helps in creation of skill which the gold smiths have developed to make India an indisputable leader in making ornaments and jewelry. Gold smiths in India make gold ornaments worth $ 70 billion per year. In the process the gold and jewelry trade generates thousands of jobs in the supply chain.
Similarly the ubiquitous lungi is part of South Indian culture as both lungi and sarees were considered as sacred wear and people used it in all kinds of social and religious gatherings. This people's habit in the subcontinent has helped millions of weavers to earn their living. Today Kerala has witnessed a change in people's taste as the younger generation prefers barmunda to lungi. The barmunda threat to lungi will let disappear jobs of thousands of handloom lungi makers in Kerala. Similarly the craze for denim jeans and short shirt pushed the traditional salwar kameez and sarees to the corner in metro cities like Mumbai and Pune. This happens because of the change in mindset due to aggressive ad campaign of companies. This brand mindset will hit hard thousands of local artisans who make salwar kameez, sarees and attractive ethnic wears.
India is a treasure trove of handicraft skill. According to all India handicraft census 1995-96, more than 48.2 lakh artisans make a wide range of utility and decorative pieces from organic material. Indian artisan skill has mainly developed due to the people's way of life which created demand for those products. The clay artisans across the country make idols of gods, goddesses and demons for different festivals. As they develop their skill and artistry they find opportunity to work with different media in metro cities. Pilgrims still believe their visit to Puri is not complete unless they buy a piece of odissi patta painting or an appliqué work. This has helped odissi painting tradition thrive. Today the price of a 20 square feet good odissi painting varies from Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 3 lakh in international market. There is tremendous scope to improve the quality of Odissi patta chitra to fetch higher price from global market. Tirupati devasthanam in Tirumala during peak season requires more than 20 tonnes of flowers every day. Bangalore city sends flowers worth Rs 30 lakh to Tirumala every day.
Famous temples across the country activate the floriculture sector and create jobs in the marketing cycle. Different festivals create demand for wide range of sweet items, which helps Indian sweet makers to produce the widest variety of sweets in the world.
The Union Government plans Skill Development Mission to achieve 9% growth during 11 th plan period. It is estimated the 11 th plan would create 70 million jobs by 2012. But the biggest challenge before the planner is skill recognition and its preservation while creating new skill for the global outsourcing market. There is an urgent need to preserve the way of life in the Indian sub continent which will help survive many kinds of skill.
Sudhansu R Das
Print This Page
Terms
and Conditions