MINISTER OF TEXTILES
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a) to (f):- A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in reply to part (a) to (f) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *486 for answer on 06.04.2022
(a) to (f): No handloom sector specific study for assessment of Covid-19 pandemic impact has been done by the Government anywhere in the country, including the states of Odisha and Maharashtra. Also, due to unorganised and traditional nature of Handloom sector, such data pertaining to the sector is dispersed and largely unavailable for centralised quantification.
The following steps have been taken by the Government to mitigate the effects of the Covid -19 pandemic:
• The Government of India announced a special economic package viz. Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan in 2020 for boosting economy of the country and making India self-reliant. Relief and credit support measures were announced for various sectors. Benefits of these relief and credit support measures to revive their businesses were available to eligible weavers and Handloom Organizations.
• To support Handloom weavers, social media campaigns were organized under the #Vocal4Handmade in the year 2020 and #MyHandlooMyPride in 2021. Central Ministers and State Chief Ministers, besides others were requested to participate and support these social media campaigns. Marketing events, Quiz contests etc. were organized to popularize handlooms, stimulating interest of the Indian Public and creation of sales opportunities for the weavers.
• State Governments were requested to make purchases of the finished inventory available with the Handloom Weavers through their Handloom Corporations, Cooperatives, Agencies etc.
• For boosting sales during the pandemic, Handloom weavers were connected with Rural livelihood missions of various states for production of face-masks by the Self Help Groups.
• Dissemination of Covid health protocols in Handloom pockets and amongst weavers was organised through Virtual Conference during the pandemic. Chaupals were organized to create awareness about the Government schemes and ways and means to effectively combat Covid-19 pandemic.
• To facilitate sale of handloom products directly to various Government Departments and organizations, steps were taken to on-board weavers on Government e-Market place. 1,49,429 weavers and handloom organizations have been onboarded on the portal.
• 135 Handloom Producer companies have been formed in different States of the country to enhance productivity, marketing capabilities and facilitate better incomes.
• 10 virtual marketing events were organised in the year 2020-21 and 11 virtual marketing events were organized in 2021-22 to facilitate Handloom Producers to showcase and sell their products online. Also 214 Marketing Events have been sanctioned in physical mode during 2021-22 for marketing of Handloom Products.
• To build and create design-oriented excellence in the Handloom Sector and to facilitate weavers, exporters, manufacturers and designers access, design repositories for product diversification and Design Resource Centres have been set up in Weavers’ Service Centres at Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Kancheepuram.
• National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) guidelines, having detailed information on Handloom Marketing Assistance, organization of expos, for both physical and virtual mode were issued in October, 2021.
• Provision has been made for welfare of handloom workers through life & accidental insurance cover, scholarships for higher education to their wards etc. The guidelines also provide for financial support for Awardee weavers above 60 years of age in indigent circumstances.
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