MAM
Fabindia collabs with MoMSME to empower India’s artisanal heritage
Mumbai: Lifestyle brand – Fabindia has announced its strategic collaboration with the ministry of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MoMSME) under the central government’s PM Vishwakarma Scheme, which was launched on 17 September 2023. This initiative is aimed at supporting India’s traditional artisans, including potters, carpenters, boat makers, weavers, armourers, blacksmiths, masons, goldsmiths, locksmiths, sculptors, stone breakers, hammer and tool kit makers, cobblers, shoesmiths, tailors, doll and toy makers, barbers, garland makers, and other skilled craftsmen, by promoting their products and expanding their market reach.
The PM Vishwakarma Scheme, a visionary program initiated by the Government of India, seeks to empower traditional artisans across the country by providing them with financial support, skill development, and marketing assistance. The collaboration between Fabindia and MoMSME is focused on enhancing the marketing development activities of artisans registered under the PM Vishwakarma scheme, enabling them to showcase their craftsmanship to a wider audience and boost their livelihoods.
Key objectives of the collaboration:
. Market integration: Fabindia will integrate artisan-made products into its retail network, offering them a platform to showcase and sell their goods across markets.
. Capacity building: Through training and skill development programs, Fabindia will assist artisans in honing their craftsmanship while incorporating modern design trends and technology to increase the commercial appeal of their products.
. Branding & promotion: Fabindia, with its robust marketing channels, will actively promote the products created by these artisans both online and offline, ensuring greater visibility and demand for authentic, handmade Indian crafts.
. Sustainability and preservation of traditional crafts: The partnership reflects the brand’s ongoing commitment to preservation and fostering a deep appreciation for India’s rich cultural heritage and its contribution towards artisans.
Commenting on the collaboration MoMSME and Fabindia Ltd said, “The initiative is committed to preserving and promoting Indian craftsmanship and artisans by providing them with the tools, training, and platform they need to thrive in the modern marketplace. With this collaboration we are sure that it will not only empower artisans but also ensure their crafts receive the recognition and market access they deserve.”
The partnership is expected to create a significant impact on the lives of artisans, helping them achieve market access and recognition for their work. Fabindia invites consumers and industry leaders to support this initiative by embracing products crafted by artisans and contributing to the growth of India’s artisanal heritage.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
