(a) whether Assam is traditionally rich in handloom sector;
(b) if so, the steps taken/being taken to promote handloom sector in the State especially among the various tribes in this State/region;
(c) whether the Government has any new proposal to promote this sector in the State; and
(d) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES
(SMT. DARSHANA JARDOSH)
(a) to (d): Yes, Sir. To promote the handloom sector, Ministry of Textiles is implementing the following schemes across the country including the State of Assam:
1. National Handloom Development Programme;
2. Raw Material Supply Scheme;
Under the above schemes, financial assistance is provided to the eligible handloom agencies/weavers for raw materials, common infrastructure development, marketing of handloom products in domestic/overseas markets, Weaver MUDRA Loans etc.
In addition, the Government has taken following steps to promote the handloom sector:
• Steps have been taken to on-board weavers and artisans on Government e-Market place to enable them to sell their products directly to various Government Departments and organizations. So far about 1.5 lakh (including 3,816 weavers in Assam) weavers have been on-boarded on the GeM portal.
• To enhance productivity, marketing capabilities and ensure better incomes, 135 (including 14 producer companies in Assam) Handloom Producer companies have been formed in different States.
• Design Resource Centres have been set up in Weavers’ Service Centres at Guwahati, Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and Kancheepuram 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.
• For export promotion of handloom products, Handloom Export Promotion Council has been organizing International Fairs. During the year 2021-22, various international marketing fairs/events have been organised. Besides, domestic marketing events were also organised in different parts of the country for the weavers to market and sell their products.
• Under Weaver MUDRA/Concessional Credit Scheme, margin money assistance at 20% of the loan amount subject to a maximum of Rs. 25,000/- for Individual Weaver/Weaver Entrepreneur and Rs. 20 lakh for Handloom Organisations, interest subvention upto 7% and credit guarantee fee on loans for a period for three years are provided.
• Weavers are facilitated to sell their products online and 23 e-commerce platforms have been associated by Ministry of Textiles under a policy framework.
• In addition to this, the state Govt has taken following steps to promote Handloom Sector in Assam:
- To augment income of poor sections of handloom weavers, 33 yarn banks in 33 Districts have been set up to provide yarn to weavers directly at a 30% subsidized price.
- A scheme called Income Generation Intervention to Handloom Weavers was launched by the state Govt. in 2019-20. A total of 8,996 weavers have been assisted in last 2 years out of which 1,249 wavers (approximately 13.88%) were from tribal communities.
- As intimated by the Government of Assam, a Handloom Trade Centre is being established in the Head Quarter of Dibrugarh District in Upper Assam to extend the marketing facilities to weavers of the Districts of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Jorhat, Golaghat etc. This centre will facilitate weavers not only in Assam, but also among the neighboring North Eastern States to support local tribal communities.
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