The Ministry of Cooperation provided details about support for heritage artisan cooperatives in Odisha, particularly in Puri district. As of June 30, 2026, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has disbursed ₹3,352.03 crore for cooperative development across Odisha state, with ₹3.78 crore specifically allocated to Puri district over the previous five years starting April 1, 2021.
According to the National Cooperative Database, there are 756 registered cooperative societies in Puri district, including 17 functional Handicraft Cooperative Societies (HCSs) engaged in various handicrafts. The Directorate of Handicrafts under Odisha's Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts Department supervises these societies, and the state has launched an integrated RCS digital portal for cooperative management.
NCDC implements multiple schemes to support artisan cooperatives, including financial assistance for infrastructure creation, value addition, processing, and marketing of handicraft products. The corporation also conducts training programs for entrepreneurship development, marketing support, and digital literacy to facilitate digital onboarding and modern business practices.
The disbursement breakdown for Odisha over the past five years shows: 2021-22 (₹4.07 crore), 2022-23 (₹1.61 crore), 2023-24 (₹3.25 crore), 2024-25 (₹5.89 crore), 2025-26 (₹7.03 crore), and 2026-27 (₹1.53 crore as of June 30, 2026). Activity-wise disbursement includes Marketing (₹1.10 crore), Service Cooperatives (₹0.15 crore), Dairy & Livestock (₹0.12 crore), FPO (₹0.43 crore), Fisheries (no disbursement), Fisheries FPO (no disbursement), Computerization (₹0.61 crore), and Storage (₹0.38 crore).
Key NCDC schemes include Yuva Sahakar for new cooperative societies, Ayushman Sahakar for healthcare cooperatives, NAndini Sahakar for women's cooperatives, Dairy Sahakar for dairy infrastructure, Digital Sahakar for digital empowerment, Swayam Shakti Sahakar Yojna for women SHGs, Deergahavadhi Krishaak Punji Sahakar Yojna for long-term agricultural lending, and Sahakar Innovation Scheme providing grants up to ₹25 lakh for innovative cooperative projects.
The support measures also include marketing assistance through exhibitions and fairs at district, state, and national levels, along with sensitization programs for artisans on digital literacy and document consolidation for e-commerce platform onboarding.