<span style="color: #222222;">The government has proposed linking major tourist places with handicrafts clusters for providing Infrastructure support and soft interventions under the Linking Textile with Tourism Programme.  <br />''<br />''Eight Craft Villages have been identified for this purpose. According to an official release, they include Raghurajpur of Odisha, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Vadaj in Gujarat, Naini, and Taj Ganj of Uttar Pradesh, Anegundi in Karnataka, Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, and Amer in Rajasthan.<br />''<br />'' The overall development of these villages will be taken up by promoting craft and tourism in a single location.<br />''<br />''Craft Village will develop handicrafts as a sustainable and remunerative livelihood option for artisans in the clusters and thus protecting the rich heritage of the country. About a thousand artisans will be benefited directly across the country and tourist inflow is also expected to be increased.</span><br />