Knife Manufacturing Cluster, Karanga

Problems faced by the Cluster:- High cost of raw material; lack of local machinery supplier; lack of Institutional finance; lack of organized marketing effort; lack of access to modern technology for product diversification & quality improvement. With a view to turn around this traditional cluster in upper Assam with an holistic approach under the cluster development programme of Ministry of MSME, a proposal in the form of a diagnostic study was prepared by MSME-Development Institute, Guwahati & the same was submitted to the O/O the DC(MSME) & the cluster development activities were approved by the O/O the DC(MSME), New Delhi & the cluster development activities started in the cluster in the last quarter of the year 2007-08. The fund released for different cluster activities during the year 2007-09 was Rs. 2.55 lakhs. The different activities undertaken in the cluster so far are:

1. Field Visit to NIFFT, Ranchi & ASIA, Jamshedpur from 30-03-08 to 07-04-08; in which 7 artisans undertook the journey. The artisans were benefited by the exposure to the latest technology.
2. Two days Awareness Campaign on CLCSS at Jorhat on 16th & 17th September’08; participated by 50 artisans from the cluster. The artisans came to know about various schemes of Govt. of India for modernizing/upgrading their traditional units.
3. Programme on Product Process & technology Transfer at Jorhat from 22nd to 30th September ’08; participated by 30 artisans from the cluster. Training was imparted by faculty members from: a). Prince of Wells Polytechnic & Engineering Institute and b). Jorhat Engineering College. The participants from the cluster learnt about whom & how to approach for transfer of technology, improve their productivity, reduce cost of production, product diversification & improve the quality of finished products.
4. Formation of SPV in the Cluster- An SPV by the name M/s Dakhin Jorhat Karanga Komar Shilpa Somobai Ltd. with 60 members was registered in the month of June2008.
5. Groundwork for starting a CFC has been started by the CDE, who is in the process of finalizing an appropriate agency to prepare the project report for the CFC.

Cluster Development Executive:-	Shri T. Longcher, Asst. Director I/c, Br. MSME-DI, Diphu.
Location:-	Located 14 km away from Jorhat in 7/8 villages.
No of Units:-	Around 50 located within a radius of 5 km.
Products Manufactured :-	Agricultural Implements, Pruning Knives, Knives for domestic use.
Employment:-	1000 artisans.
Turnover Before the Start of CDP:-	Rs. 63 lakhs per year.
Market:-	Tea gardens, Farmers & domestic households in Assam.