Union Minister of State, Textiles, Shri Ajay Tamta presided over the 3rd National Handloom Day celebrations in Guwahati.
The handloom weavers should be able to earn due value for their produce, and that Government is working in this direction.
Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata Scheme under which Government of India assists the weaver by bearing 90% of the cost of new looms and MUDRA scheme, under which loans ranging from INR 50,000/- to 10 lakh can be availed by the weavers, with no requirement for any security whatsoever were discussed.
Ministry of Textiles has entered into MoUs with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) whereby children of weavers shall be able to avail school and university education, with 75% of fees being borne by the Government of India.
More than 50% of total weaver population of India resides in North Eastern Region, most of whom are women. He said that the prime objective of holding National Handloom Day in Guwahati is to empower women and girls.
There is a huge potential of Handloom sector in North East.
An MoU was signed on the occasion, between Ministry of Textiles and Common Service Centres, under which weavers will be able to avail a wide array of Government services under one roof - from Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCs).
The WSCs will henceforth serve as a one-stop centre for weavers, providing various services, including banking, passport, insurance, PAN card, voter ID and AADHAAR.
Weavers will also be able to pay their electricity bills and undertake online courses at WSCs.
There are 28 WSCs under the Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, functioning in various parts of the country.
Weavers visit these WSCs frequently, in order to avail technical assistance in relation to their profession.
Another MoU was signed on the occasion, between Ministry of Textiles and designers under which reputed textile designers will work closely with handloom weavers, passing on design assistance and knowledge.
This is thereby expected to improve the market potential of the handloom products and improve the earnings of weavers.
The Minister also distributed some educational material to handloom weavers.
Study material developed in collaboration with National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) was also distributed to children of handloom weavers.
The National Handloom Day was celebrated across the country.
The Union Textiles Minister addressed a gathering at Ahmedabad. Various programmes were held in universities, schools and other institutions as well.
