Lok Sabha Question No. 1809 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-08
Subject: Loss of livelihood of Handloom Workers
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Krupal Balaji Tumane, Omprakash Bhupalsinh alias Pawan Rajenimbalkar

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1809 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2021

## LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD OF HANDLOOM WORKERS

## 1809.  SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE: SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH alias PAWAN RAJENIMBALKAR:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government has taken notice of the loss of livelihood of handloom and power loom workers and the low productivity during the pandemic;
- (b) whether the Government is aware that the weavers want to sell their textile products to Government institutions and they also seek subsidy for the procurement of raw materials;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the details of the assistance given by the Government in this regard;
- (d) whether textile industry is facing slowdown due to the failure of cooperative committees which have affected the collection of GST; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof during the last five years and till date and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## उत्तर

ANSWER

## वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री ( श्रीमती दर्शना जरदोर् )

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SMT. DARSHANA JARDOSH)

- (a) to (e): The Government has taken the following steps proactively to address the issues arising out of pandemic.
- i. Ministry of Textiles has requested the States and UTs for their State Handloom Corporations/Co-operatives/Agencies to make purchases of the finished inventory available with the handloom weavers/artisans.
- ii. Steps have been taken to on-board weavers on Government e-Market place to enable them to sell their products directly to various Government Departments and organizations. So far about 1.50 Lakh weavers have been on-boarded on the GeM portal.
- iii. To  enhance  productivity,  marketing  capabilities  and  ensure  better  incomes,  128  Handloom Producer companies have been formed in different States.
- iv. Under  Concessional  Credit/Weaver  MUDRA  Scheme,  financial  assistance  is  provided  as follows:
- a. Margin money assistance
- -@ 20% of loan amount, subject to maximum of Rs. 25,000/- per weaver,
- -@ 20% of loan amount, subject to maximum of Rs. 20.00 lakh (@ Rs. 2.00 lakh for every 100 weaver/worker) per handloom organization,
- b. Interest subvention upto 7% for 3 years; and
- c. Credit Guarantee on loans for 3 years
- v. Design  Resource  Centres  have  been  set  up  in  Weavers'  Service  Centres  at  Delhi,  Mumbai, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Kancheepuram, through NIFT with the  objective  to  build  and  create  design-oriented  excellence  in  the  Handloom  Sector  and  to facilitate weavers,  exporters, manufacturers  and  designers  access  design  repositories for sample/product improvisation and development.
- vi. To promote marketing of handloom products, Handloom Export Promotion  Council has been organizing International Fairs in virtual mode. During the year 2020-21, 12 handloom fairs were organized in virtual mode. Besides, domestic marketing events were also organized in different parts of the country for the weavers to market and sell their products.
- vii. Raw Material Supply Scheme is being implemented throughout the country to make available Yarn to Handloom weavers. Under the Scheme, freight charges are reimbursed for all types of yarn; and component of 15% price subsidy is there for cotton hank yarn, domestic silk, wool and linen yarn and blended yarn of natural fibres, with quantity caps.
- viii. 534  number  of  Chaupals  were  organized  in  various  States  to  educate  the  weavers  to  avail benefits of various handloom schemes for their welfare and socio-economic development.
- ix. To promote e-marketing of handloom products, 23 e-commerce entities have been engaged for online marketing of handloom products.
- x. Marketing  platform  is  provided  to  the  handloom  agencies/weavers  by  organizing  marketing expos/ events to sell their products.

Growth  of  the  textile  Industry  depends  on  many  factors,  besides  functioning  of  the  co-operative societies.  Due  to  unorganized  and  traditional  nature  of  handloom  sector,  the  data  related  to  loss  of livelihood during the pandemic, if any, is dispersed and largely unavailable for centralized quantification.

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