Uttarakhand Rajya Shilp Ratna Puraskar

What is the Uttarakhand Rajya Shilp Ratna Puraskar?

Uttarakhand Rajya Shilp Ratna Puraskar, also written as the Uttarakhand State Shilp Ratna Award or, in press reports, the Shilp Rattan award, is the state's top honour for master artisans. It is conferred by the Directorate of Industries (Department of MSME), Government of Uttarakhand, working through the Uttarakhand Handloom and Handicraft Development Council (UHHDC) and the District Industries Centres.

The award's stated purpose is the conservation, promotion and encouragement of the state's traditional craft arts, and giving due recognition to artisans who have made a distinguished contribution to the craft sector. It is awarded on two grounds: the excellence of the work the artisan has produced, and the artisan's long experience in that craft.

The award was first conferred on 27 January 2016, when the Chief Minister presented it to 23 artisans at a function in Dehradun. Press reports of that ceremony record that each awardee received Rs 1 lakh, a shawl and a citation, and that the government intended to raise the number of awardees to about 50 in the following year. Later ceremonies have combined the distribution of the Shilp Ratna awards with other departmental initiatives, such as the launch of the state's Himadri brand of handloom and handicraft products on online marketplaces.

Who runs the award, and where does it sit?

The Uttarakhand Handloom and Handicraft Development Council is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Industry Minister chairs it, the Principal Secretary (Industry) is its member secretary, and the Additional Director of Industries is its Chief Executive Officer. The council works through the Directorate of Industries and the District Industries Centres, and it is that same chain: DIC upward to the Directorate, that handles the award.

Uttarakhand's craft base is small but distinctive. The council's own product listing covers ringal (hill bamboo) work, aipan folk art, woollen weaving and warm woollens, copperware, wood craft, wax work and natural-fibre products. The Directorate of Industries has put the sector's working strength at over 15,000 weavers and artisans. Against that base, an award of 23 to 50 places a year is genuinely selective.

Who is eligible for the Rajya Shilp Ratna Puraskar?

You can be considered if:

• You are a permanent resident of Uttarakhand.
• You are a practising artisan or weaver who makes the work yourself.
• You are registered either with the Directorate of Industries, Uttarakhand or with the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts / Handlooms), Government of India, a Pehchan card serves as this proof.
• You have long experience in your craft and can evidence it.
• You can submit your own craft work or photographs of it for assessment.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible: if:

• You are not registered with either the state Directorate of Industries or the Development Commissioner.
• You are not a permanent resident of Uttarakhand.
• You are a trader, dealer or exporter of handicrafts rather than a maker.
• Your cooperative society or institution is in default on a departmental or bank loan — district notices for the associated state handloom and handicraft awards exclude defaulters explicitly.
• You are applying for a small-scale industrial unit award without three years of continuous production, which is the condition the district notices attach to that separate category.

How to apply for the Uttarakhand Rajya Shilp Ratna Puraskar

1. Watch for the award notification. The District Industries Centre issues it with the last date for the year. District notices for the state handloom and handicraft awards have carried deadlines such as 30 September, so the window typically falls in the second half of the year.
2. Collect the prescribed application form from your District Industries Centre. Some districts have asked for three copies of the completed form.
3. Assemble the file: proof of artisan registration, photographs of the craft work being entered, evidence of experience, domicile certificate, Aadhaar, photograph and bank passbook copy.
4. Prepare the application fee if the notification asks for one. District notices have specified Rs 50 by demand draft in favour of the General Manager of the District Industries Centre. Confirm the current fee at your DIC before drawing the draft.
5. Submit the file at the District Industries Centre by the last date, and collect a dated receipt. Some districts also accept submission at the Government Design Centre or the regional assistant manager's office named in the notification.
6. Attend the district-level assessment if called. Selection committees are constituted at the district level and then at the state level.
7. Await the state-level result, which is announced when the award ceremony is scheduled. The cash award is paid to the artisan's bank account.

What the state has not published

This is a small award scheme, and the honest position is that the Government of Uttarakhand has not put a standing, dated scheme document for it online. The figures given above; Rs 1 lakh, a shawl and a citation, 23 awardees, are what was reported for the first ceremony in January 2016 and are the only cash figure traceable to a public account of the award. The number of awards a year, the current cash amount, the exact minimum years of experience and the current application fee are all set by the notification for that award year, and the District Industries Centre is the only reliable place to confirm them.

Do not rely on a figure quoted by a middleman. There is no agent route to a state award, and no fee beyond whatever the notification itself specifies.

Common reasons applications fail

• No artisan registration. An unregistered artisan cannot be considered. Get registered with the DIC or apply for a Pehchan card from the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) first, this alone takes time, so do it well before an award year.
• Photographs that do not show the work. The award turns on craftsmanship. Poorly lit or partial photographs of an excellent piece lose to good photographs of a lesser one.
• Experience asserted but not evidenced. Attach certificates, exhibition participation records, society membership and previous district awards.
• Missed deadline. The notification date is hard, and there is no late window.
• Wrong category. The same notification often covers artisan awards, cooperative society awards and small-scale industry awards. Applying under the wrong head sends the file to the wrong committee.

Related schemes an artisan should know about

• Shilp Guru and the National Awards for handicrafts, conferred by the Ministry of Textiles through the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts). A separate, national process with its own annual call for applications.
• Handicrafts Artisans' Comprehensive Welfare Scheme, also of the Ministry of Textiles, which carries insurance and welfare components for registered artisans.
• Himadri emporiums run by the Uttarakhand Handloom and Handicraft Development Council, which market artisans' products, including through online marketplaces.

Help and contact

• Directorate of Industries, Uttarakhand: toll free 7618544555, phone 0135-2728227, at DDPM Hyundai, Fourth Floor, Haridwar Bypass Road, Ajabpur Khurd, Dehradun.
• Uttarakhand Handloom and Handicraft Development Council at uhhdc.uk.gov.in.
• Your District Industries Centre. The office that issues the notification, the form and the receipt, and the right place for every question about the current award year.