Dr. K.S. Rao, Minister of Textiles, has said that the Government has been promoting and encouraging the handloom sector through a number of programmes and schemes. Committed to help handloom weavers to meet the challenges of globalization and modernization, the initiatives taken by the Government cover all aspects of production and raw material supply, design and technical assistance, training and skill upgradation, marketing and welfare, so that the weaver is assured self-sustainable employment.
Addressing the first meeting of the reconstituted All India Handloom Board, Dr. Rao said the notable schemes which were initiated in the recent past are the revival, reform and restructuring (RRR) package for the handloom sector aimed at waiving the outstanding loans of individual weavers and co-operative societies, to provide concessional credit to weavers and also to offer 10 per cent yarn subsidy to them.
Under the RRR package, so far financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 1,019 crores has been approved, of which a sum of Rs. 741 crores has been released so far. The package has supported around 31 apex and 8,805 primary co-operatives, 50,500 individual weavers and 5,462 SHGs. Banks have sanctioned concessional credit of around Rs. 325 crores to 1.13 lakh weavers.
To provide yarn at subsidized price for handlooms, the Government has announced 10 per cent price subsidy on woollen yarn, in addition to cotton and domestic silk yarn already available. Further, 170 lakh kg yarn worth Rs. 500 crores has been supplied till January 24 in the current year.
The Minister further observed that the Government has so far sanctioned six mega handloom clusters. Each mega cluster is provided with Rs. 70 crores for the overall development of weavers. During the 12th Plan, the Government proposes to provide health insurance to handloom weavers on the pattern of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, with coverage raised from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 37,500 per weaver family of five members. The Government is also providing designers for the clusters to provide design & colour trends commensurate with the market requirement for both domestic and export markets, so that innovative handloom products with new designs are developed.
The meeting was attended by more than 50 members who offered various suggestions, including offer of higher assistance to the handloom sector to attract the younger generation to this skillful art.