Lok Sabha Question No. 3098 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-06
Subject: Cloth Production
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Gautam Gambhir

## CLOTH PRODUCTION

## 3098.  SHRI GAUTAM GAMBHIR:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंरी be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the share of handloom industry in total cloth production has fallen due to weaver's migrating to powerloom;
- (b) if  so,  whether  this  is  likely  to  adversely  impact  signature  product  of  master weavers;
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  considering  a  new  plan  for  the  development  of handloom industry; and
- (d) if so, details thereof?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंरी ( श्रीमती स्मृ तत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b): The main fibers used by weavers in the sector are cotton, silk, wool, linen, jute and  acrylic.  A  lot  of  Handloom  items  are  produced  by  the  sector  for  the  in-house consumption of weavers and their families. Due to the unorganized and traditional nature of the sector, the data pertaining to Handloom production is dispersed and largely unavailable for centralized quantification.

(c) & (d): To promote handloom sector, the Office of the Development Commissioner for  Handlooms,  Ministry  of  Textiles,  is  implementing  the  following  schemes  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.

## A. 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 uptoRs. 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  organising  marketing  events  in  domestic  as  well  as  overseas markets.
- (iii) WEAVERS'  MUDRA  SCHEME: Under  the  Weavers'  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 directly in the Bank account of the beneficiary through designated agency.

## (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, 1232 registrations have been issued under 122 product categories and sale of Rs. 722.57 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. 66.20 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.

## B. COMPREHENSIVE HANDLOOM CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT SCHEME:

The Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) is implemented for development of Mega Handloom Clusters covering at least 15000 to 25,000 handlooms and financial assistance as GoI share from Rs. 40.00 to Rs.70.00 crore is in a period of 5 years.  8 mega handloom clusters taken up as announced in the  Budgets  i.e.  Varanasi,  Sivasagar  (2008-09),  Virudhunagar,  Murshidabad  (200910),  Prakasam  &  Guntur  districts  and  Godda  &  neighbouring  districts  (2012-13), Bhagalpur & Trichy (2014-15).

Under the scheme, components like conducting Diagnostic Study, engaging Designer, Product  Development,  Corpus  for  raw  material,  Construction  of  Worksheds  (for BPL/SC/ST/Women weavers), Skill up-gradation etc. are fully funded by Government of India, while the components like Technology up-gradation, lighting units  funded  90%  and  other  common  infrastructural  projects  like  Design  Studio, Marketing Complex, Value Addition Centres, Publicity etc., are funded by the GOI to the extent of 80%.

## C. 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).

## D. 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.

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