Lok Sabha Question No. 2424 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata Yojana for Handloom Weavers
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Pradyut Bordoloi

## HATHKARGHA SAMVARDHAN SAHAYATA YOJANA FOR HANDLOOM WEAVERS

## 2424. SHRI PRADYUT BORDOLOI:

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

(a)  whether  the  Government  is  providing  support  to  handloom  weavers  in  the  North  East,  especially Assam through any schemes or subsidies, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government is implementing Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata Yojana for handloom weavers in the North East;

(c) if so, the details thereof including year-wise funds allocated and funds released since inception years including number of beneficiaries;

(d) the details of utilization of funds provided by the Government under the HSSY till date in Assam;

(e) whether the Government has assessed the performance of HSSY in the North East, if so, the details thereof; and

(f) whether the Government is taking any steps to improve access to micro-finance and market linkages to handloom weavers in the North East, if so, the details thereof?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री ( श्रीमती दर्शना जरदोर् )

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

(a) to (d): Ministry of Textiles is implementing following schemes for development of handlooms and welfare of weavers across the country including Assam and other North Eastern States:

1. National Handloom Development Programme
2. Raw Material Supply Scheme

Under National Handloom Development Programme, need based financial assistance is provided for integrated and holistic development of handlooms to eligible handloom agencies/weavers on receipt of complete  proposals  as  per  the  guidelines  from  State  Governments  for  implementation  of  various interventions like upgraded looms & accessories under Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata, solar lighting units, worksheds,  design and product development,  infrastructure  development,  value addition, marketing support by organizing of fairs and exhibitions for marketing of handloom products, weaver's Mudra loan etc.

Under Raw Material Supply Scheme, raw material such as yarns, dyes, chemicals etc. is supplied to eligible handloom agencies/weavers under Transport Subsidy and Price subsidy components.

Funds  are  allocated  for  entire  National  Handloom  Development  Programme  and  not  separately component-wise,  including  Hathkargha  Samvardhan  Sahayata.    Since  2015-16  to  2022-23,  fund  of Rs.1456.66 crore has been allocated under National Handloom  Development  Programme  and Rs. 1285.45 crore has been utilized (till 30.11.2022) across the country.  Out of which, Rs. 158.75 crore is utilized in North East including Rs.27.88 crore in Assam. Under Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata, 12266 handloom workers were benefited in North East by providing upgraded looms & accessories.

(e): The performance of interventions under handloom Clusters including Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata  has  been  evaluated  by  independent  agencies.    The  evaluation  studies  reported  increase  in earnings and number of working days of weavers.

(f): In  order  to  support  working  capital  requirement  of  handloom  agencies/weavers  and  promote marketing  channels  in  domestic  and  export  markets,  following  steps have  been  taken  by  the Government of India:

- i. Margin  Money  assistance  under  weaver's  MUDRA  loan  scheme  is  provided  to  handloom agencies/weavers.
- ii. On-boarding of weavers on Government e-Market place to enable them to sell their products directly to various Government Departments and organizations.
- iii. To  enhance  productivity,  marketing  capabilities  and  facilitate  better  incomes,  144  Handloom Producer companies (PCs) have been formed in the country, including 23 PCs in North East.
- iv. 13  Design  Resource  Centres  have  been  set  up  in  Weavers'  Service  Centres  including  one  in Guwahati to build and create design-oriented excellence in the Handloom Sector and to facilitate weavers, exporters, manufacturers and designers access design repositories for product development.

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