"Advanced Training in Handicrafts" Component of the "Development of Handicrafts" Scheme

What is Advanced Training in Handicrafts?

The "Advanced Training in Handicrafts" component sits inside the "Development of Handicrafts" scheme of the Department of Industries and Commerce, Union Territory of Puducherry, and is administered through the District Industries Centre at Thattanchavady. The Department sponsors candidates for training in other states where the craft is practised to its finest, so that they can acquire advanced techniques and proficiency in their chosen craft.

The parent scheme has three stated objectives: to promote and develop handicrafts in the Union Territory; to revive the vanishing crafts and restore the traditional handicrafts and trades under the Viswakarma category; and to develop skills that create better employment opportunities and improve the livelihood of the rural poor, who the Department notes have contributed a significant share to the Union Territory's exports.

Advanced Training is the component that addresses a specific gap. A six-month basic course inside Puducherry can teach a craft's fundamentals, but it cannot teach what is only known in the places where a craft has been refined over generations. Sending a candidate to that place, and paying their fare, their keep and their course fee while they are there, is a different and more expensive intervention than local training, and the Department prices it accordingly: Rs 2,500 a month against Rs 1,500 for the basic course, plus accommodation and travel.

What does the scheme pay?

The course fee is paid as prescribed by the training unit or institution, so the trainee is not out of pocket on tuition. The travelling allowance is capped at second class berth fare, which means the journey out and back is funded but an upgrade is not.

Who is eligible for Advanced Training in Handicrafts?

You can apply if:

• You are between 18 and 35 years of age.
• You are a native of the Union Territory of Puducherry, or have been a continuous resident for the past three years. The Department accepts a birth certificate, an education certificate or a residence certificate as proof.
• You possess the educational qualification required by the training unit or institution for the course concerned.

You are not eligible if:

• You are under 18 or over 35 years of age.
• You cannot establish nativity or three years of continuous residence in Puducherry with one of the accepted certificates.
• You have already been trained under the scheme. The Department's citizen's charter states that already trained candidates are not eligible to apply.
• You do not meet the host institution's educational requirement for the course. Unlike the basic training component, which accepts any literate youth with no specific qualification, the advanced component defers to the institution's own entry standard.

Where this component sits among the Department's handicraft schemes

Applicants often find that a different component fits them better, so the full set is worth knowing:

A craftsperson over 35 who already runs a unit is not shut out by the age bar on this component — the Design Development Training route has no age limit and pays more, provided the unit has been running satisfactorily for more than three years.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Advanced Training in Handicrafts

1. Watch the local newspapers. The Department's citizen's charter states plainly that the round will be advertised in the local newspapers, so there is no standing window. Checking with the District Industries Centre periodically is the practical complement to watching the papers.
2. Take a print of the prescribed application form, available from the Department's application forms download area on dic.py.gov.in, or obtain the form from the Project Manager (Cottage Industries).
3. Fill in every mandatory field, paste the passport-sized photograph and sign across it where the form requires, and attach self-attested copies of your residence proof, age proof, educational qualification certificates and bank account details, together with the declaration that you have not already been trained under the scheme.
4. Visit the Project Manager (Cottage Industries) on a working day during office hours at the District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605 009, and submit the duly filled and signed form with the documents.
5. Collect your acknowledgement. On receipt, the office makes the entry in its application receipt register and assigns a unique number that identifies you in all further references and serves as the acknowledgement of receipt.
6. Await sponsorship. Selected candidates are sponsored to the training unit or institution in the other state where the craft is practised, and the course fee, stipend, accommodation charges and fare follow from there.

How do I check the status of my application?

Quote the unique number issued at submission and follow up with the Project Manager (Cottage Industries) at the District Industries Centre, Thattanchavady. The contact officer for both the basic and advanced handicrafts training components is the same Project Manager, so all enquiries about either route go to the same desk.

Because sponsorship depends on a suitable training institution and course being identified in another state, an application can legitimately wait for a placement rather than a decision. Ask specifically whether your file has been selected and is awaiting placement, or is still under consideration.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• Age outside the 18 to 35 band. Craftspeople over 35 should look at the Design Development Training component, which has no age limit.
• Nativity or three-year residence not proved. Enclose a birth certificate, education certificate or residence certificate; the Department names all three as acceptable.
• Already trained under the scheme, which the citizen's charter bars.
• Educational qualification short of the institution's requirement for the course applied for.
• Applying outside an advertised round, when no call has been issued.
• Form incomplete, unsigned, or photograph missing, which sends the file back before it reaches the register.
• Bank details missing, which delays the stipend and accommodation payments once training begins.

Where to raise a grievance

The Department publishes its grievance redressal mechanism at industry.py.gov.in/grievance-redressal-mechanism. Grievances relating to handicraft components are taken up first at the District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605 009.

If the grievance is not redressed within time, it is escalated to the General Manager, District Industries Centre, Thattanchavady, on 0413-2248987, 0413-2248391 or 0413-2249392. If still unresolved, it goes to the Secretary to Government (Industries and Commerce), Chief Secretariat, Puducherry 605001, on 0413-2233207. The Director of Industries and Commerce, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, can be reached on 0413-2248476, 0413-2248168 or 0413-2248320, and the Functional Manager at the Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry, Karaikal 609609, on 04368-266467.

The Department's citizen's charter is published at dic.py.gov.in. Application forms are issued free of cost, and no agent is authorised to charge a fee for sponsoring your name for training.