The Hindu Business Line : AP Govt moves to revive handloom sector

IN a bid to revive the handloom sector, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to explore a variety of options, ranging from tapping corporates and the Railways to preparing a calendar of expos for selling handloom.

The State Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, said that talks with the Railways were on to strike a better deal, as the price quoted by the public sector logistics utility was not attractive.

Mr Rosaiah heads a high-level panel appointed by the Government to study the problems being faced by the handloom sector. The panel is expected to submit a report in 3-4 months. "The final report will come out with a long-term strategy on the issue."

Stating that the sector is in dire straits, he said that the Government had initiated some immediate measures to provide succour to the 1.74 lakh handloom weavers in the State.

Nearly half of them have been given identity cards. "These ID cards will be handy when they approach banks or other agencies for assistance."

The Finance Minister also said that 12,000 weavers have been given artisan credit cards so far and that 18,000 more cards would be distributed soon. Loans up to Rs 25,000 would be given through these cards. An outlay of Rs 75 crore had been allocated for the purpose.

In a bid to boost handloom sales, the Government has directed the officials to prepare a calendar for holding expos in all district headquarters.

"They weavers cannot survive without Government support. The GO that mandated all the Government departments to use handloom for their requirements has not been effective. We will try to enforce it," Mr Rosaiah said.

The revival of weavers' fortunes is invariably related to the revamp of APCO (AP State Handloom Weavers' Co-operative Society Ltd).

"We have set a revenue target of Rs 100 crore for the current financial year against Rs 87.5 crore last year," he said.

Showroom sales during the first quarter stood at Rs 23.93 crore. "Response to our expos, particularly during the just-concluded Krishna Pushkarams, has been very good."

The Government is also trying to revamp the APCO functioning so as to cut down on the yawning gap between the procurement price and actual price of the product.

"We are also going to cut down on establishment budgets. Besides, we will open handloom bazaars at vantage points in order to attract more buyers."

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