Budget 2019: New clusters to increase productivity of traditional industries

New Delhi: Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday announced that the government aims to set up Common Facility Centres (CFCs) to facilitate cluster-based development for making traditional industries more productive, profitable and capable for generating sustained employment opportunities.

The CFCs will be set up under Scheme of Fund for Upgradation and Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) and its focused sectors will be Bamboo, Honey and Khadi clusters, said Sitharaman while presenting Union Budget for 2019-20.

Over 50,000 artisans will be able to join the economic value chain under the new clusters which will set up by the government.

SFURTI scheme was launched in 2005 by the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

It was aimed at organizing the traditional industries and artisans into clusters to make them competitive and provide support for their long term sustainability.