Lok Sabha Question No. 2531 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-06
Subject: Traditional Weaving Practices of Tribals
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Gitaben Vajesingbhai Rathva, Pradeep Kumar Singh, Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Naranbhai Bhikhabhai Kachhadiya, Parbatbhai Savabhai Patel

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2531 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.03.2020

## TRADITIONAL WEAVING PRACTICES OF TRIBALS

## 2531. SHRIMATI RATHVA GITABEN VAJESINGBHAI:

SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH:

SHRI JASWANT SINGH BHABHOR:

SHRI NARANBHAI KACHHADIYA:

SHRI PARBATBHAI SAVABHAI PATEL:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  any  data  regarding  the  weavers  in  the  tribal  areas  who  are engaged in traditional weaving practices;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (c)  the  details  of  the  schemes  being  implemented  or  proposed  to  be  implemented  by  the Government for welfare of traditional tribal weavers to promote the said traditional weaving in the country; and

(d) the amount of funds allocated and utilized in this regard during each of the last three years and the current year?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्रीमती स्मृतत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES

(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a)  &  (b): As  per  the  4 th All  handloom  Census,  there  are  35,22,512  handloom  workers (handloom weavers  & allied workers) in the country out of which there are 6,28,768 Schedule Tribe  handloom  workers.  The  State  wise  data  of  Schedule  Tribe  handloom  workers  is  at Annexure-I.
- (c): The Government of India, Ministry of Textiles is implementing following schemes for promotion & development of handlooms and welfare of the handloom workers, including Tribal 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.

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- (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.

Ministry  of  Textiles  is  providing  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, 1333 registrations  have  been  issued  under  184  product  categories  and  sale  of  Rs. 861.93 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  on-line marketing  of  handloom  products.  A  total  sales  of  Rs.80.76  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.  38 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.

(d): The detail of amount of funds allocated and utilized under these schemes during the last three years and current year is as under:-

| SN   | Name of Scheme                                            | 2016-17 (Rs. In crore)   | 2016-17 (Rs. In crore)   | 2017-18 (Rs. In crore)   | 2017-18 (Rs. In crore)   | 2018-19 (Rs. In crore)   | 2018-19 (Rs. In crore)   | 2019-20 (Rs. In crore) (as on 28-02-2020)   | 2019-20 (Rs. In crore) (as on 28-02-2020)   |
|------|-----------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|
|      |                                                           | Funds allocated (RE)     | Funds released/ utilized | Funds allocated (RE)     | Funds released/ utilized | Funds allocated (RE)     | Funds released/ utilized | Funds allocated                             | Funds released/ utilized                    |
| 1    | National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)            | 167.53                   | 153.56                   | 140.24                   | 135.05                   | 138.53                   | 119.72                   | 135.00                                      | 132.63                                      |
| 2    | Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) | 50.00                    | 40.11                    | 32.50                    | 31.82                    | 21.50                    | 16.38                    | 40.00                                       | 14.13                                       |
| 3    | Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS)     | 26.56                    | 26.56                    | 25.00                    | 24.98                    | 10.05                    | 2.06                     | 20.00                                       | 8.01                                        |
| 4    | Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS)                                  | 261.50                   | 261.35                   | 200.00                   | 199.84                   | 155.41                   | 126.84                   | 195.00                                      | 134.27                                      |
|      | Total                                                     | 505.59                   | 481.58                   | 397.74                   | 391.69                   | 325.49                   | 265.00                   | 390.00                                      | 289.04                                      |

## Annexure-I

| S.N.   | State/UTs         | Number of Schedule Tribe Handloom worker   |
|--------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| 1.     | ANDHRA PRADESH    | 2,202                                      |
| 2.     | ARUNACHAL PRADESH | 67,017                                     |
| 3.     | ASSAM             | 2,38,319                                   |
| 4.     | BIHAR             | 7,198                                      |
| 5.     | CHHATTISGARH      | 2,008                                      |
| 6.     | DELHI             | 808                                        |
| 7.     | GOA               | 0                                          |
| 8.     | GUJARAT           | 70                                         |
| 9.     | HARYANA           | 4,158                                      |
| 10.    | HIMACHAL PRADESH  | 2,182                                      |
| 11.    | JAMMU AND KASHMIR | 6,062                                      |
| 12.    | JHARKHAND         | 4,266                                      |
| 13.    | KARNATAKA         | 2,460                                      |
| 14.    | KERALA            | 133                                        |
| 15.    | MADHYAPRADESH     | 1,031                                      |
| 16.    | MAHARASHTRA       | 224                                        |
| 17.    | MANIPUR           | 67,798                                     |
| 18.    | MEGHALAYA         | 13,407                                     |
| 19.    | MIZORAM           | 27,447                                     |
| 20.    | NAGALAND          | 41,957                                     |
| 21.    | ODISHA            | 15,108                                     |
| 22.    | PUDUCHERRY        | 7                                          |
| 23.    | PUNJAB            | 150                                        |
| 24.    | RAJASTHAN         | 542                                        |
| 25.    | SIKKIM            | 373                                        |
| 26.    | TAMIL NADU        | 2,470                                      |
| 27.    | TELANGANA         | 412                                        |
| 28.    | TRIPURA           | 66,778                                     |
| 29.    | UTTAR PRADESH     | 7,449                                      |
| 30.    | UTTARAKHAND       | 1,994                                      |
| 31.    | WEST BENGAL       | 44,738                                     |
|        | Total             | 6,28,768                                   |

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