Lok Sabha Question No. 1121 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-18
Subject: All India Handloom Board
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Midhun Reddy, Arun Sao, Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, Pocha Brahmananda Reddy, Chandra Sekhar Bellana

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1121 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.09.2020

## ALL INDIA HANDLOOM BOARD

## 1121.   SHRI P.V. MIDHUN REDDY:

SHRI MAGUNTA SREENIVASULU REDDY:

SHRI POCHA BRAHMANANDA REDDY:

SHRI ARUN SAO:

SHRI CHANDRA SEKHAR BELLANA:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  decided  to  scrap  the  All  India  Handloom  Board,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  reasons therefor;
- (b) whether the Government has decided to entrust the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to undertake the duties and functions of Handloom Board and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c)  the  details  of  various  measures/schemes  being  implemented/proposed  to  be  implemented  by  the  Government  for empowerment and to improve economic condition of the handloom weavers at present?

## उत्तर

ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्रीमती स्मृतत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES

(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a): The  decision  to  disband  All  India  Handloom  Board  (AIHB)  was  taken  based  on  a  thorough  review  of  the functioning  of  the  Board. The  assessment  revealed  that  weavers  from  across  the  Nation  did  not  benefit  from  the  Board which barely met, and did not take weavers across all States into confidence. There was no contribution from the Board as regards policy formulation and its implementation.

On the other hand, the Weavers' Service Centres and the State Handloom departments have been working well in good coordination through interactions on policy, implementation of Government schemes, educating weavers about online marketing  platforms  including  efforts  to  onboard  weavers  on  Government  e-marketplace  (GeM),  and  addressing  the problems of handloom weavers through Chaupals.

- (b): No, Sir.
- (c): The Government of India, Ministry of Textiles is implementing following schemes at present for development of handlooms and welfare of handloom weavers across the country:-
- 1) National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)
- 2) Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS)
- 3) Handloom Weavers' Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS)
- 4) Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS)

Under the above schemes, financial assistance is provided for raw materials, purchase of looms and accessories, design  innovation,  product  diversification,  infrastructure  development,  skill  upgradation,  lighting  units,  marketing  of handloom products and loan at concessional rates.

## 1. NATIONAL HANDLOOM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (NHDP)

- (i) BLOCK LEVEL CLUSTER: Introduced in 2015-16 as one of the components of National Handloom Development  Programme  (NHDP).    Financial  assistance  upto  Rs.  2.00  crore  per  BLC  for  various interventions  such  as  skill  upgradation,  Hathkargha  Samvardhan  Sahayata,  product  development, construction of workshed, project management cost, design development, setting up of common facility centre  (CFC)  etc.  is  provided.  Besides,  financial  assistance  upto  Rs.  50.00  lakh  is  also  available  for setting up of one dye house at district level. The proposals are recommended by the State Government.
- (ii) HANDLOOM  MARKETING  ASSISTANCE is  one  of  the  components  of  National  Handloom Development Programme.  In order to provide marketing platform to the handloom agencies/weavers to sell  their  products  directly  to  the  consumers,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  the  States/eligible handloom agencies for organizing marketing events in domestic as well as overseas markets.
- (iii) WEAVER MUDRA SCHEME: Under  the  Weaver  MUDRA  Scheme,  credit  at  concessional  interest rate of 6% is provided to the handloom weavers.  Margin money assistance to a maximum of Rs. 10,000

per  weaver  and  credit  guarantee  for  a  period  of  3  years  is  also  provided. MUDRA Portal has  been developed  in  association  with  Punjab  National  Bank  to  cut  down  delay  in  disbursement  of  funds  for margin money and interest subvention.

## (iv) HATHKARGHA SAMVARDHAN SAHAYATA (HSS):

Hathkargha  Samvardhan  Sahayata  (HSS)  was  introduced  on  1st  December  2016  with  an  objective  to provide looms/accessories to the weavers to enhance their earnings through improved productivity and quality of the handloom products. Under the scheme, 90% of the cost of loom/accessory is borne by the Government of India while remaining 10% is borne by the beneficiary. The Government of India's share is released to the supplier through Weavers' Service Centre.

## (v) EDUCATION OF HANDLOOM WEAVERS AND THEIR CHILDREN:

Ministry  of  Textiles  has  signed  Memorandums  of  Understanding  with  Indira  Gandhi  National  Open University (IGNOU) and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to secure educational facilities for the  weavers  and  their  families.    NIOS  offers  Secondary  and  Senior  Secondary  level  education  with specialized subjects on design, marketing, business development, etc. through distance learning mode for handloom  weavers,  whereas  IGNOU  offers  continuing  education  programs  through  accessible  and flexible  learning  opportunities  relevant  to  the  aspirations  of  handloom  weavers  and  their  children  for career progression.

The programme envisages reimbursement of 75% of the fee towards admission to NIOS/IGNOU courses in case of SC, ST, BPL, and Women learners belonging to handloom weavers' families.

- (vi) ' INDIA HANDLOOM' BRAND -  During  the  celebration  of  7th  August  2015  as  National  Handloom Day,  'India  Handloom'  Brand  was  launched  by  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister  for  branding  of  high  quality handloom  products.  It  promotes  production  of  niche  handloom  products  with  high  quality,  authentic traditional designs with zero defect and zero effect on environment. Since its launch, 1590 registrations have been issued under 184 product categories and sale of Rs. 926.23 crore has been generated.

Initiatives  with  various  leading  brands  has  been  undertaken to bring out a separate range of handloom garments in their brand.

- (vii) E-COMMERCE -  In  order  to  promote  e-marketing  of  handloom  products,  a  policy  frame  work  was designed and under  which any  willing e-commerce platform  with  good track record can participate in online marketing of handloom products. Accordingly, 23 e-commerce entities have been engaged for online  marketing  of  handloom  products.  A  total  sales  of  Rs.  110.46  crore  has  been  reported  through  the online portal.
- (viii) URBAN HAATS are  set  up  in  the  big  towns/metropolitan  cities  to  provide  adequate  direct  marketing facilities  to  the  craft  persons/weavers  and  eliminate  middle  agencies.    39  such  Urban  Haats  have  been sanctioned across the country so far.

## 2. COMPREHENSIVE HANDLOOM CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT SCHEME:

The  Comprehensive  Handloom  Cluster  Development  Scheme  (CHCDS)  is  targeted  at  development  of  Mega Handloom  Clusters  in  clearly  identifiable  geographical  locations  covering  atleast  15000  handlooms  with  the Government of India (GoI) contribution upto Rs.40 crore per cluster over a period of 5 years. Components such as conducting  diagnostic  study,  corpus  for  raw  material,  etc.,  are  fully  funded  by  the  Government  of  India  (GoI) whereas components like lighting units, technological up-gradation of looms and accessories are 90% funded by the GoI.  Other components such as creation of infrastructure for design studio/ marketing complex/garmenting unit, marketing development, assistance for exports and publicity are 80% funded by the GoI.  08 Mega Handloom Clusters  viz.  Varanasi  (Uttar  Pradesh),  Sivasagar  (Assam),  Virudhunagar(Tamil  Nadu),  Murshidabad  (West Bengal), Prakasam & Guntur districts (Andhra Pradesh), Godda & neighbouring districts (Jharkhand), Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Trichy (Tamil Nadu) have been taken up for development.

## 3. HANDLOOM WEAVERS' COMPREHENSIVE WELFARE SCHEME

Weavers  Comprehensive  Welfare  Scheme  (HWCWS)  is  providing  life,  accidental  and  disability  insurance coverage under the components Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Converged Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (MGBBY).

## 4. YARN SUPPLY SCHEME:

Yarn Supply Scheme is being implemented throughout the country to make available all types of yarn at Mill Gate Price.  The  scheme  is  being  implemented  through  National  Handloom  Development  Corporation.    Under  the Scheme  freight  is  reimbursed  and  depot  operating  charges  @2%  is  given  to  depot  operating  agencies.    A component of 10% price subsidy also exists on hank yarn, which is applicable on cotton, domestic silk, wool and linen yarn with quantity caps.