Outstanding Artisan of the Year under Motivation of Entrepreneurs to Start Industries and Fiscal Assistance to Industries — State Awards to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

What is the Outstanding Artisan of the Year award?

Outstanding Artisan of the Year is one of the State Awards to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises given by the Industries and Commerce Department, Union Territory of Puducherry. The award line sits inside the department's larger scheme, Motivation of Entrepreneurs to Start Industries and Fiscal Assistance to Industries, which bundles the department's promotional and recognition measures for enterprise in the Union Territory.

The award is conferred on an artisan who has been a participant for three years in national or international handicraft exhibitions and fairs. The awardee receives a cash award of Rs 2,00,000 and a citation.

Puducherry has a long craft base: handloom and silk weaving, coir, pottery, leatherwork and paper craft, and the Directorate of Industries and Commerce runs several supporting schemes for it through the District Industries Centre, including training in handicrafts, exhibition support and a monthly pension for old crafts persons. Outstanding Artisan of the Year is the recognition end of that group: it does not fund a workshop or a machine, it rewards a craftsperson who has already carried Puducherry's craft to national and international exhibition floors.

What the award carries

• Cash award of Rs 2,00,000.
• A citation from the Government of Puducherry.

There is no loan, no subsidy and no continuing allowance attached to this award. It is a one-time recognition.

Who is eligible for Outstanding Artisan of the Year?

You can be considered if:

• You are an artisan. An individual craftsperson, not a manufacturing enterprise applying in its corporate name.
• You have been a participant for three years in national or international handicraft exhibitions or fairs. This is the single qualifying test the department states for this award.
• You can produce documentary proof of that participation, such as participation certificates, stall allotment letters or written confirmation from the organisers.
• You are from the Union Territory of Puducherry, since this is a state award of Puducherry.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You have not participated for three years in national or international handicraft exhibitions or fairs. Participation in local or district-level exhibitions alone does not meet the stated condition.
• You are applying as an enterprise rather than as an individual artisan. The State Awards to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises carry separate award lines for enterprises, and an enterprise should apply under the appropriate line rather than under Outstanding Artisan of the Year.
• You cannot evidence the participation claimed. Selection is on merit before a committee, and an unsupported claim is difficult to carry.

What documents are required?

Every photocopy attached should be self-attested, and the form must be signed.

How to apply for the Outstanding Artisan of the Year award

The award is applied for offline. There is no online form for this award.

1. Wait for the Director of Industries to invite applications. The Directorate publicises the call widely; watch the Directorate of Industries and Commerce notice board at Thattanchavady, the District Industries Centre notice board, and announcements in local dailies.
2. Download and print the prescribed application form from the official website of the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Puducherry.
3. Fill every mandatory field in the form, paste the photograph where the form requires one, and attach self-attested copies of all supporting documents, especially the three years of exhibition participation proof.
4. Sign the form and submit it, along with the documents, to the concerned authority at the Directorate of Industries and Commerce: either in person or by post.
5. Ask for an acknowledgement when submitting in person, or send the application by registered post or speed post so that a delivery record exists.

What happens after the application is submitted?

1. The Directorate of Industries and Commerce scrutinises every application on a merit basis.
2. The scrutinised applications are placed before the award committee constituted for the State Awards.
3. The committee examines the merits of each case before granting the award.
4. The Director of Industries notifies the list of selected artisans and informs them to receive the awards.

Because selection runs through a committee on comparative merit, the quality of the evidence attached matters as much as bare eligibility. Photographs of the work exhibited, catalogue pages from the fairs, and letters from organisers all help the committee place a claim.

Common reasons an application fails

• Exhibition participation not documented. A verbal claim of having attended fairs cannot be scrutinised on merit.
• Participation is local rather than national or international. The award condition is specific about the level of the exhibition.
• Application filed outside the call. Applications are invited by notification; a form sent at a random time in the year may not reach a live committee.
• Form incomplete or unsigned, or photocopies not self-attested.

Key dates

The Directorate of Industries and Commerce has not published a fixed annual last date for this award. Applications are invited by the Director of Industries through wide publicity, which is why the practical advice is to track the Directorate and District Industries Centre notice boards rather than wait for a calendar date.

Whom to contact

• Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009 — phone +91-413-2248476, 2248168, 2248320.
• General Manager, District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009 to phone +91-413-2248987, 2248391.
• Functional Manager, District Industries Centre, Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry, Karaikal 609609 to phone +91-4368-266467.
• Technical Officer, Civil Station, Yanam 533464, phone +91-884-2321257.
• Technical Officer, Civil Station, Mahe 673310.
• Email of the District Industries Centre: dic.pon@nic.in.

No fee is charged for applying for this award, and no intermediary is authorised to collect money for forwarding a nomination.