Lok Sabha Question No. 2277 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-23
Subject: Handloom Weavers
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru, Veena Devi, Umesh G. Jadhav, Pocha Brahmananda Reddy, Vinayak Bhaurao Raut

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2277 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.09.2020

## HANDLOOM WEAVERS

## 2277.   SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHNA RAJU: SHRIMATI VEENA DEVI: DR. UMESH G. JADHAV: SHRI POCHA BRAHMANANDA REDDY: SHRI VINAYAK RAUT:

## Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  received  any  request  from  handloom  weavers  seeking  recognition  as  MSMEs  and special marketing assistance as they have lost livelihood due to COVID pandemic, if so, the details thereof, State/UTwise particularly Andhra Pradesh along with the details of their other demands;

(b) whether the Government has taken any steps to protect the handloom weavers and supply free electricity to them, if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise including Bihar and Maharashtra and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c)  whether  the  Government  has  sanctioned/released  funds  for  execution  of  various  schemes  for  weavers,  if  so,  the details thereof, scheme and District-wise and if not, the reasons therefor along with the total number of weavers in the country, particularly Karnataka;

(d) whether some State Governments are unable to fully utilize the sanctioned amount, if so, the details and reasons therefor and the the steps being taken by the Government to ensure optimum utilization of released funds for the benefit of weavers; and

(e) whether the Government is aware of the problems faced by the handloom weavers, if so, the measures taken by the Government to address the problems of the weavers along with schemes proposed and implemented by the Government to uplift the handloom sector?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्रीमती स्मृतत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES

## (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b): The eligible Handloom entities can register themselves as MSMEs, following norms and guidelines for the same. Marketing assistance is provided to State Handloom organisations for organising marketing events and expos based on proposals submitted by them and forwarded by the concerned Sate Government.  Also the following steps have been taken by the Government of India, Ministry of Textiles in view of the difficulties being faced by the handloom weavers due to the COVID 19 pandemic:

The Government of India has announced a special economic package viz . Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan for boosting  economy  of  the  country  and  making  India  self-reliant.  Relief  and  credit  support  measures  have  been announced  for  various  sectors  including  MSMEs.  The  weavers  can  avail  benefits  of  these  relief  and  credit  support measures to revive their businesses which have suffered due to lock down necessitated by Covid-19 pandemic.

Apart from the above special economic package, the Ministry of Textiles has taken following initiatives for the benefits of handloom weavers and artisans across the country: -

- i) To  support  the  handloom  and  handicraft  sectors  and  to  enable  wider  market  for  handloom weavers/artisans/producers,  steps  have  been  taken  to  on-board  weavers/artisans  on  Government  eMarket  place  (GeM)  to  enable  them  to  sell their  products  directly  to  various  Government Departments and organizations.
2. ii) 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.
3. iii) A social media campaign #Vocal 4 handmade was launched on the 6 th National Handloom Day by the Government, in partnership with all stakeholders, to promote the handloom legacy of India and to ensure people's support for the weaving community.  A social media campaign #Vocal 4 handmade was  launched  on  the  6 th National  Handloom  Day  by  the  Government,  in  partnership  with  all stakeholders, to promote the handloom legacy of India and to ensure people's support for the weaving community.  It has been reported that the social media campaign has resulted in renewed interest of

the  Indian  public  in  handlooms  and  several  e-commerce  players  have  reported  increase  in  sale  of Indian handloom products.

- iv) The Ministry of Textiles has requested the Chief Ministers of all States and UTs to instruct their State Handloom  Corporations/Co-operatives/Agencies  to make  purchases  of the finished inventory available  with  the  handloom  weavers/artisans  so  as  to  put  some  ready  cash  in  the  hands  of  the weavers to enable them meet their household needs.
- v) In  face  of  the  unprecedented  Covid-19 pandemic,  it is  not feasible to hold conventional marketing events such as exhibitions, melas, etc. To deal with this crisis, the Government endeavors to provide online marketing opportunities to our weavers and handloom producers.

Taking a step towards realizing 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat', the vision of our Hon'ble Prime Minister, Handloom Export Promotion Council has endeavored  to virtually  connect  the  Handloom  Weavers and exporters from different corners of the country with the International Market.

With more than 200 participants from different regions of the country showcasing their products with unique designs and skills, THE INDIAN TEXTILE SOURCING FAIR was organized on 7, 10 and 11th August 2020.  The show has attracted considerable attention of the International Buyers.

- vi) Design Resource Centres are being set up in Weavers Service Centres (WSCs) through NIFT with the objective  to  build  and  create  design-oriented  excellence  in  the  Handloom  Sector  and  to  facilitate weavers, exporters, manufacturers and designers for creating new designs.
- vii) Apart from the above initiatives, Ministry of Textiles is implementing following schemes through the Offices  of  Development  Commissioner  (Handlooms)  for  overall  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) 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.

There  is  no  plan  to  supply  free  electricity  for  the  handloom  weavers  in  the  country,  including  Bihar  and Maharashtra.

(c) to (e): Budgetary  allocation  of  funds  is  not  made  State/UT-wise.    Funds  are  released  to  the  eligible handloom agencies on the basis of viable proposals received through the State Government and utilisation of previously released funds.  Scheme-wise details of funds allocated and released/utilized in the last three years and the current year (as on 31-8-2020) are at Annexure- I.

The Office of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms is implementing its schemes in close coordination with the  State  Governments  and  its  field  offices,  viz.  Weavers'  Service  Centres  located  across  the  country  so  that  the benefits of the schemes reach the targeted beneficiaries on time and there should be optimum utilisation of funds for the purposes for which it is released for the handloom weavers.

The Government is aware of the problems faced by the handloom weavers and to address their problems the schemes and programmes as mentioned in part (a) & (b) above are being implemented across the country.

As per the 4 th All India Handloom Census, there are 26,73,891 weavers and 8,48,621 allied workers in the country, out of which there are 27,175 weavers and 27,616 allied workers in the state of Karnataka.

## Annexure-I

| Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   | Scheme-wise funds allocated and released in the last three years and current year 2020-21   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| SN                                                                                          | Name of Scheme                                                                              | 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)                                                                      | 2019-20 (Rs. In crore)                                                                      | 2020-21 (Rs. In crore) (as on 31-8-2020)                                                    | 2020-21 (Rs. In crore) (as on 31-8-2020)                                                    | Total (2017-18 to 2020-21) (Rs. In crore)                                                   | Total (2017-18 to 2020-21) (Rs. In crore)                                                   |
|                                                                                             |                                                                                             | Funds allocated (RE)                                                                        | Funds released                                                                              | Funds allocated (RE)                                                                        | Funds released                                                                              | Funds allocated (RE)                                                                        | Funds released                                                                              | Funds allocated (BE)                                                                        | Funds released                                                                              | Funds allocated                                                                             | Funds released                                                                              |
| 1                                                                                           | National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)                                              | 140.24                                                                                      | 135.05                                                                                      | 138.53                                                                                      | 118.72                                                                                      | 147.05                                                                                      | 141.87                                                                                      | 205.00                                                                                      | 108.36                                                                                      | 630.82                                                                                      | 504.00                                                                                      |
| 2                                                                                           | Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS)                                   | 32.50                                                                                       | 31.82                                                                                       | 21.50                                                                                       | 16.38                                                                                       | 21.12                                                                                       | 16.22                                                                                       | 14.00                                                                                       | 2.95                                                                                        | 89.12                                                                                       | 67.37                                                                                       |
| 3                                                                                           | Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS)                                       | 25.00                                                                                       | 24.98                                                                                       | 10.05                                                                                       | 2.06                                                                                        | 19.59                                                                                       | 8.04                                                                                        | 10.00                                                                                       | -                                                                                           | 64.64                                                                                       | 35.08                                                                                       |
| 4                                                                                           | Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS)                                                                    | 200.00                                                                                      | 199.84                                                                                      | 155.41                                                                                      | 126.84                                                                                      | 166.19                                                                                      | 142.21                                                                                      | 155.00                                                                                      | 39.80                                                                                       | 676.60                                                                                      | 508.69                                                                                      |
|                                                                                             | Total                                                                                       | 397.74                                                                                      | 391.69                                                                                      | 325.49                                                                                      | 264.00                                                                                      | 353.95                                                                                      | 308.34                                                                                      | 384.00                                                                                      | 151.11                                                                                      | 1461.18                                                                                     | 1115.14                                                                                     |

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