Lok Sabha Question No. 409 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-22
Subject: Promote Design Initiative
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Shri Navaskani K, Shri Selvam G

## 409. SHRI SELVAM G: SHRI NAVASKANI K:

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

- (a)  the  major  schemes  being  implemented  by  the  Government  for  the  promotion  and  development  of handloom and handicraft sectors in the country, State-wise particularly in Tamil Nadu;
- (b)  the  nature  of  financial  and  technical  assistance  provided  under  each  scheme,  including  for  raw material supply, upgraded looms/toolkits, marketing, social security and infrastructure development;
- (c) the total funds released/sanctioned under these schemes during the last three financial years, Statewise including Tamil Nadu;
- (d) the specific benefits and support provided to handloom weavers and handicraft artisans under these schemes;
- (e) whether the Government has taken steps to promote design innovation and marketing linkages and if so, the number and location of Design Resource Centres (DRCs) set up across the country, State-wise including those in Tamil Nadu; and
- (f)  whether  the  Government  proposes  any  further  policy  to  strengthen  the  handloom  and  handicraft sectors  in  rural  and  tribal  areas,  especially  in  southern  States  like  Tamil  Nadu  and  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER )

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्री गिररराज स ंह

## MINISTER OF TEXTILES (SHRI GIRIRAJ SINGH)

(a) to (d): The Government of India, Ministry of Textiles is implementing following schemes for the promotion and development of handloom and handicraft sectors in the country, including the State of Tamil Nadu:

1. National Handloom Development Programme;
2. Raw Material Supply Scheme;
3. National Handicraft Development Programme;
4. Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme;

Under  the  above  schemes,  financial  and  technical  assistance  is  provided  for  raw  materials,  upgraded looms, accessories and toolkits, design innovation, product diversification, infrastructure development, marketing of handloom and handicraft products in domestic and overseas markets, loans at concessional rates, social security etc., which benefit handloom weavers and handicraft artisans.

## PROMOTE DESIGN INITIATIVE

In  the  schemes  implemented  by  the  Ministry  of  Textiles  in  these  sectors,  budget  is  not  allocated State/UT-wise. Funds to eligible handloom/handicraft agencies are released for various interventions on receipt of viable proposals as per the extant guidelines of the respective schemes. The details of funds released  under  these  schemes  of  handloom  and  handicraft  sectors  across  the  country  including  Tamil Nadu during the last three financial years are as follows:

| Year    |   (Rs. in crore) Funds released |
|---------|---------------------------------|
| 2022-23 |                          428.6  |
| 2023-24 |                          465.85 |
| 2024-25 |                          486.35 |

(e): To promote design innovation in Handloom sector, Research  and Development projects being administered by Ministry of Textiles include revival and documentation of languishing handloom crafts, experimentation/research on use of new fibres/natural dyes/organic cotton, documentation of existing/developed designs in WSCs etc. Besides, Design Resource Centres (DRCs) have been set up in 16 Weavers' Service Centres at Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Kolkata, Meerut, Nagpur, Indore, Panipat, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kancheepuram & Chennai (2 DRCs in  Tamil  Nadu)  across  the  country  to  preserve  traditional  handloom  designs  and  to  build  and  create design-oriented  excellence  in  the  Handloom  Sector.  Moreover,  Ministry  of  Textiles  is  also  being implementing Handloom Marketing Assistance (HMA) scheme across the country to promote marketing linkages in the handloom sector.

(f): To strengthen  the  handloom  and  handicraft  sectors,  the  Government  of  India  is  implementing above schemes across the country including rural, tribal areas and southern States like Tamil Nadu.

****