Shilp Samagam Mela 2026 Underway at Khanapara in Guwahati

The eight-day Shilp Samagam Mela 2026 is in progress at Guwahati, the capital of Assam, and reached its fourth day on 24 October. It is the second fair in the Shilp Samagam Mela series that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is holding in the financial year 2026-27. The fair gathers craftspeople from across the country, the North-Eastern states included, to put India’s handicraft and handloom traditions before buyers in one place.

Where and when

The venue is Farm Gate, Khanapara, Guwahati, and the fair stays open to the public from 11 in the morning until 9 at night. A ministry official said it will continue until 28 October, a Wednesday. Visitors are buying directly from the makers and watching traditional music and dance performances on the side.

Who is taking part

Selling face to face lets an artisan meet a customer without a middleman, pick up repeat buyers and judge for themselves what a wider market wants.

BHARAT-TULIP

A central purpose of the fair is to push BHARAT-TULIP, which stands for Traditional Artisans’ Upliftment Livelihood Programme. The programme helps artisans of the ministry’s target groups sell what they make, both through physical outlets and on e-commerce platforms, so that a craftsperson in a village is not cut off from a customer in a city. Wider market access and digital channels are expected to lift earnings and, with them, keep traditional crafts alive.

The three corporations behind it

Shilp Samagam Mela is the ministry’s marketing support programme for artisans and beneficiaries attached to its three national corporations:

• National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC)
• National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC)
• National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation (NBCFDC)

Guided by the principle of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, the fair works for the economic empowerment of Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Safai Mitras and Denotified Tribes. It also tells visitors and the communities taking part about the welfare, financial assistance and development schemes these corporations run.

The first edition of the series

The opening fair of the 2026 series closed in Mysuru on 19 October after nine days at the Dasara Exhibition Ground in Karnataka, drawing thousands of visitors. Taken together, the fairs pair the ministry’s loans and grants with a selling platform, so that skill turns into steady income rather than remaining a craft practised at a loss.