Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha made a strong pitch for buying local handicraft products to empower artisans. The Lieutenant Governor has called for promoting cities and villages renowned for their artisans on the global craft map so that artisans who have been practicing these arts for decades can receive the due respect and recognition. From pashmina shawls to silken carpets and from chain stitch to papier-mache, the government is going whole hog to push Kashmir exports. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the de facto brand ambassador of Kashmiri handicrafts. Last year, PM Modi gifted a Pashmina stole and saffron to Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Earlier, he gifted a Kashmiri Pashmina stole packed in a papier mache box to his Swedish counterpart. A plain 100 percent hand

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