President conferred National, Shilp Guru and Sant Kabir Awards for 2011

Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India on 1 July 2014 presented the National Awards for Handicrafts and Handlooms, Shilp Guru Awards and Sant Kabir Awards for the year 2011. The awards were given to weavers and artisans at a function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

Sant Kabir Awardees are
• L Subadani Devi of Manipur
• Gour C Basak of West Bengal

Shilp Guru Awardees are
• Ghulam Mehdi Joo of Jammu and Kashmir
• MM Mahapatra of Odisha
• Ghanshyam Nimbark of Rajasthan
• Shabbir Hasan of Rajasthan
• K Rahmatullah of Tamil Nadu
• Subhrendu B Roy of Tripura
• Kaneez Asghar of Uttar Pradesh
• Fayyaz Ahmad of Uttar Pradesh
• Babu Ram Yadav of Uttar Pradesh
• Alima Khatun of West Bengal

The National Awards were presented in two categories namely in Handicrafts and Handlooms.
• National Award in Handicrafts category was conferred on 21 people
• National Award in Handlooms category was conferred on 25 people

Besides, President Pranab Mukherjee also gave National Merit Certificate to 20 people in Handicrafts category and to 21 persons in Handloom category.

Sant Kabir Award
Sant Kabir Award established in 2009 is conferred to outstanding weavers who have made valuable contribution in keeping alive the handloom heritage. The award is christened in the memory of sant Kabir, a 15th-century mystic poet and sant of India. It consists of one mounted gold coin, one shawl and a citation along with a financial assistance of 6 lakh rupees.

About Shilp Guru Awards
Shilp Guru Award was established in 2002 on occasion of Golden Jubilee Year of Handicrafts Resurgence in India. It is conferred to legendary master craft persons of handicrafts whose work and dedication have contributed not only to the preservation of rich and diverse craft heritage of the country but also to the resurgence of handicrafts sector as a whole.

The award consists of one mounted gold coin, one shawl and a citation along with a financial assistance to the extent of 7.50 lakh rupees.

The Eligibility criteria for Sant Kabir Awards and Shilp Guru Awards are same. Any Indian master craft persons who is either a National Awardees or a State Awardees of exceptional standing or master craft persons of extraordinary skills and having immense contribution to handicrafts sector. The craftsman should not be below the age of 55 years. A maximum of 10 Awards is given in each category in a given year.

About National Awards
The National Awards for craftsmen was introduced during the year 1965 and later the same was extended to weavers also.  Every year up to 20 national awards and 20 national merit certificates is given in each category to the outstanding craftsmen and handloom weavers. National award consists of a certificate, angavastram, a copper plaque and cash award of 1 lakh rupees and national merit certificate award consists of a certificate and a cash award of 50000 rupees.

All craftspersons and weavers residing in India and who are above the age of 35 years and are having 10 years experience in the field of handicrafts or handlooms as on 31st December of previous year are eligible for the award.