Economic Empowerment of Woodcraft Artisans in Uttar Pradesh: The Role of Institutional Support and Financial Inclusion

Abstract

Handicrafts are one of the major contributors of rural non-farm employment in India and play significant role in creating livelihoods, preserving culture and inclusive economic development. Uttar Pradesh is one of the prominent handicrafts producing states of the country and its various districts are famous for their traditional handicrafts like Saharanpur, Moradabad, Varanasi, Bhadohi, Agra etc. In these, Saharanpur is known for its wood crafts business and it is a source of livelihood for thousands of artisans and plays a significant role in the handicraft economy of the state (Government of Uttar Pradesh, 2024; Ministry of Textiles, 2023). Although the sector is economically significant, it still suffers from poor institutional support, low access to formal finance, poor market linkages, technological constraints and income insecurity, thus limiting the socio-economic empowerment of artisans (NITI Aayog, 2023).

In this backdrop, the present study explores the socio-economic profile of woodcraft artisans and investigates the significance of institutional support and financial inclusion for the economic empowerment of artisans in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The study is descriptive and analytical, which is a type of research based on primary data obtained from 72 woodcraft artisans who were given a structured questionnaire. The socio-economic characteristics and perceptions of the respondents about economic empowerment, institutional support, and financial inclusion are analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean scores and standard deviations. Internal consistency of the measurement scale was examined using Cronbach's alpha and Pearson's correlation analysis was used to test the relationships between the study variables.

The results indicate that woodcraft is still the primary source of livelihood for most of the respondents and has a positive impact on the livelihood security, financial independence and household income. But artisans are still facing problems due to poor government support, less participation in institutional programmes, less marketing support and less stable income. While financial inclusion has been enhanced by increased access to formal financial institutions, institutional interventions are still inadequate to achieve sustainable economic empowerment. The study suggests that the livelihoods of the artisans of the handicraft sector in Uttar Pradesh and its sustainability in the future can be improved by strengthening institutional support systems, making accessible and affordable credit available to artisans, increasing skill development programs, promoting digital and export-oriented marketing, and increasing the involvement of artisans in government development schemes. The results offer empirical evidence to the policy makers and development agencies to support the enhancement of the rural development based on artisans and the maintenance of the traditional handicrafts heritage of India.