Lok Sabha Question No. 821 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Handloom Weavers
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Kani K. Navas

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 821 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## HANDLOOM WEAVERS

## 821.   SHRI K. NAVASKANI:

## Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

- (a) the total number of handloom weavers in Tamil Nadu, district-wise;
- (b) whether it is a fact that the number of weavers is declining every year since they are switching over to other professions, if so, the reasons therefor including remedies formulated for their revival; and
- (c) the details of per capita income of a handloom weaver; and
- (d) whether it is a fact that weavers income is reducing every year, if so, the reasons therefor and steps proposed for enhancing their income?

## उत्तर

ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्रीमती स्मृतत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a): According  to  the  4 th All  India  Handloom  Census  2019-20,  the  total  number  of  handloom workers in Tamil Nadu State are 2,43,575. District wise break-up of handloom workers in Tamil Nadu State is given at Annexure-I.
- (b) to (d): According  to  4 th All  India  Handloom  Census  2019-2020,  total  number  of  handloom worker households is 31,44,839. However number of handloom worker households as per 3 rd Handloom Census of India 2009-2010 was 27,83,271.

## As per 3 rd handloom census:

Average earning of Handloom Households (Rs/Annum, 2009-10): Rs. 36498 (i.e. Rs. 3042 per Month). According to the 3 rd Handloom Census it was estimated that 99% of all weaver households earned less then Rs 5000 per month.

## As per 4 th Handloom Census:

Number of handloom workers household by income:

|   S.No | By Income per Month (In Rs.)   | Total (%)          |
|--------|--------------------------------|--------------------|
|      1 | Less than 5000                 | 21, 09,525 (67.1%) |
|      2 | 5001-10,000                    | 8, 24,021 (26.2%)  |
|      3 | 10,001-15000                   | 1, 40,509 (4.5 %)  |
|      4 | 15,0001- 20000                 | 29,989 (1.0%)      |
|      5 | Above 20,001                   | 40,795 (1.2%)      |

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.

## 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. 1046.52 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. Total sales of Rs.123.97 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.

The total number of handloom workers district - wise in Tamil Nadu State according to 4 th All India Handloom Census 2019-20

| S no   | District Name   | Total Handloom Workers   |
|--------|-----------------|--------------------------|
| 1      | Erode           | 45045                    |
| 2      | Salem           | 26252                    |
| 3      | Coimbatore      | 14983                    |
| 4      | Kancheepuram    | 10350                    |
| 5      | Virudhunagar    | 12773                    |
| 6      | Thanjavur       | 8382                     |
| 7      | Tiruvannamalai  | 23650                    |
| 8      | Madurai         | 9004                     |
| 9      | Namakkal        | 8337                     |
| 10     | Dindigul        | 8096                     |
| 11     | Ariyalur        | 8325                     |
| 12     | Kanniyakumari   | 6753                     |
| 13     | Ramanathapuram  | 10208                    |
| 14     | Viluppuram      | 3475                     |
| 15     | Karur           | 6778                     |
| 16     | Tirunelveli     | 6232                     |
| 17     | Thiruvallur     | 2859                     |
| 18     | Tiruchirappalli | 3868                     |
| 19     | Vellore         | 8773                     |
| 20     | Cuddalore       | 3662                     |
| 21     | Thoothukkudi    | 1547                     |
| 22     | Sivaganga       | 895                      |
| 23     | Dharmapuri      | 510                      |
| 24     | Perambalur      | 293                      |
| 25     | Thiruvarur      | 355                      |
| 26     | Pudukkottai     | 32                       |
| 27     | Nagapattinam    | 85                       |
| 28     | Tiruppur        | 10558                    |
| 29     | THENI           | 1430                     |
| 30     | KRISHNAGIRI     | 65                       |
| 31     | CHENNAI         | 0                        |
| 32     | THE NILGIRIS    | 0                        |
| Total  | Total           | 2,43,575                 |