Airport Authority of India recently initiated a scheme

Solution

To encourage the talent of women, artisans and craftsmen and provide them with the right opportunities, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has taken an initiative to allocate space to Self Help Groups (SHGs) at its airports for selling/showcasing the self-made products of their region. Under “AVSAR” (Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans Of The Region), an opportunity to help the indigent to mobilize their households into functionally effective self-earned groups for self-reliance and self-dependence, has been provided. Under this scheme, an area of 100-200 square feet has been earmarked at each AAI operated airport. The space is being allotted to the self- help groups, turn on turn basis, for a duration of 15 days. Few outlets have already been commissioned at Chennai, Agartala, Dehradun, Kushinagar, Udaipur & Amritsar Airport wherein SHGs operated by local women, are showcasing and marketing their homemade local products like Puffed Rice, Packaged Papad, Pickles, Bamboo based Ladies Bag/Bottle/Lamp Sets, local artifacts, traditional craft, natural dyes, embroidery and indigenous weaves with contemporary design to the air travelers.