Lok Sabha Question No. 888 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Promotion of Handloom Products
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Hasmukhbhai Somabhai Patel, Pradyut Bordoloi

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 888 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## PROMOTION OF HANDLOOM PRODUCTS

## 888.   SHRI PATEL HASMUKHBHAI SOMABHAI: SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

- (a) the details of the problems faced by the handloom weavers across the country, State-wise;
- (b) whether the Government is promoting e-marketing and media marketing of handloom products;
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the industries benefitted, State wise;
- (d)  the  steps  and  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  bring  weavers  onboard  Government e-Marketplace (GeM); and
- (e) the problems faced due to the scrapping of All India Handloom Board?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्रीमती स्मृतत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d): The following are some of the major problems faced by the handloom weavers across the country, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. The Handloom workers were unable to sell their products, as the haats, exhibitions, marketing events  etc.  could  not  be  held  during  the  period  of  the  pandemic.  There  were  subsequent limitations  on  participation  due  to  social  distancing  norms  imposed  by  the  respective  Govts. This led to build-up of their inventories and erosion of their working capital.

As a result, handloom workers who were dependent on day-to-day earnings, suffered financial hardships.

2. Besides, the sector has other problems like repetitive production of similar products with little change in designs, low productivity, shifting of skilled labour to other sectors etc.

The Government is aware of the problems faced by weavers across the country. In order to come out of the COVID 19 pandemic situation and for the benefit of handloom weavers, the following initiatives have been taken in the recent times:

- i) Due to restrictions imposed on physical marketing events such as exhibitions, melas, etc. due to  COVID-19  pandemic,  Handloom  Export  Promotion  Council  (HEPC)  took  initiative  to virtually connect the Handloom Weavers and exporters from different corners of the country with the International Market.

In  the  present  financial  year  Handloom  Export  Promotion  Council  has  organized  07 International Fairs in virtual mode, facilitating marketing and sales of Handloom Products in the  domestic  as  well  as  international  markets.  Out  of  these,  THE  INDIAN  TEXTILE SOURCING FAIR was organised with more than 200 participants from different regions of the country showcasing their products with unique designs and skills from 7-11 August, 2020. The show attracted considerable attention of the International Buyers.

HEPC also participated in the Bharat Parv Festival organized in virtual mode by Ministry of Tourism. Besides, 53 domestic marketing events have also been sanctioned for different parts of the country for the weavers to market and sell their products.

- ii) A social media campaign #Vocal4handmade 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.
- iii) During August-October 2020, 534 number of Chaupals were organized in various States to educate the weavers to avail benefits of various handloom schemes meant for their welfare and socio-economic development.
- iv) To  enhance  productivity  and  marketing  capabilities  and  ensure  higher  returns  on  Weavers' through collective efforts and pooling of resources, 109 Handloom Producer companies have been formed in different States.
- v) To promote e-marketing of handloom products, 23 e-commerce entities have been engaged for on-line  marketing  of  handloom  products.  So  far,  total  sales  of  Rs.  123.97  crore  has  been generated from online portal for online marketing of handloom products as on 31.12.2020.
- vi) Design Resource Centres (DRCs) have been set up in Weavers Service Centres (WSCs) Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar and Guwahati 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 and take benefit of erstwhile created designs.
- vii) 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 e-Market place (GeM) to enable them to sell their products directly to various Government Departments and organizations.  So  far  about  1.5  Lakh  weavers  have  been  onboarded on the GeM portal.

(e): The decision to disband All India Handloom Board (AIHB) was taken based on a thorough review of the functioning of the Board. The assessment revealed that weavers from across the Nation did not benefit from the Board. There was no contribution from the Board as regards policy formulation and its implementation.

On the other hand, the Weavers' Service Centres and the State Handloom departments have been working  well  in  good  coordination  through  interactions  on  policy,  implementation  of  Government schemes, educating weavers about online marketing platforms including efforts to on-board weavers on Government  e-marketplace  (GeM),  and  addressing  the  problems  of  handloom  weavers  through Chaupals.

In view of the above, the Government has not faced any problem due to scrapping of All India Handloom Board.