The Hindu Business Line : Textile Ministry plans integrating multiple handloom schemes

New Delhi, July 2 Concerned over the declining utility of the cooperative sector in the delivery of results under the various Central schemes for the handloom sector, the Ministry of Textiles has forwarded a proposal to the Planning Commission to merge the multiple schemes in the handloom sector into five manageable ones.

Official sources told Business Line here that these schemes would include Integrated Handloom Development Scheme, Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Programme, Handloom Inputs Scheme, Marketing and Export Promotion Scheme and D iversified Handloom Development Scheme.

They said while the allocation under Integrated Handloom Development Scheme and Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare scheme during the current fiscal has been pegged at Rs 120 crore and Rs 130 crore, respectively, the Marketing & Export Promotion Scheme gets Rs 35 crore and the remaining Rs 30 crore would be disbursed to the other two schemes at Rs 15 crore each.

The sources said while the Centre has been helping the handloom weavers across the country through the States and cooperatives in the handloom sector, in recent years there has been a decline in the cooperative sector due to “choking of credit, mismanagement and reduced procurement by State agencies”. As a consequence, the delivery mechanism through cooperatives for schematic assistance has failed in several States, the sources said, adding that the number of weavers who were actively associated with cooperatives has also declined distinctly since 1987-88.

This meant that the Central assistance is reaching to a diminishing proportion of the handloom community, they said.

In the backdrop of fierce competition facing the textile sector in overseas markets, particularly in the post-quota regime where price and quality hold the fort, a growing need has impelled the authorities at the Central level to go in for a focused and flexible and holistic approach in the handloom sector in order to enable handloom weavers meet the challenges of global competition, the sources said.

The need for banding together several intervention schemes at the Central level arose due to a reality check which revealed that the country’s handloom sector suffers from several disabilities including inherent weaknesses like low-value products, cost inefficiency, lack of raw material and working capital.

Since the handloom sector has an edge over the powerloom and mill sectors in its ability to commercially produce goods in small volumes, quick switchover to new designs and creation of exquisite designs , the Government is keen on revamping the extant schemes on the handloom sector so as to bring about beneficial results to weavers over the long haul.

Production

Overall production in the handloom sector is estimated to have increased to 6,520 million sq metres during 2006-07 from 5,722 million sq metres in 2004-05.

Exports of cotton handloom fabrics and made-ups have been of the order of Rs 2,633.27 crore during 2002-03 and the major fabrics and made-ups exported to different countries include Real Madras Handkerchiefs , lungis, dhotis/sarees, shirting, bed-linen, table linen, towels, dish cloth, broad cloth, casement, denims, long cloth, shawls and scarves, poplin, bet sheets and durries.