DEVELOPMENT OF THE HANDLOOM AND HANDICRAFT SECTORS IN RURAL AREAS

DEVELOPMENT OF THE HANDLOOM AND HANDICRAFT SECTORS IN RURAL AREAS

The Government of India, Ministry of Textiles is implementing following schemes for the development of handloom and handicraft sectors across the country, including rural areas:

Under the above schemes, financial assistance is provided for raw materials, purchase of looms, accessories and toolkits, design innovation, product diversification, infrastructure development, marketing of handloom and handicraft products in domestic and overseas markets, loans at concessional rates, etc.

In the schemes implemented by the Ministry of Textiles in these sectors, budget is not allocated State/UT-wise. Funds to eligible handloom agencies are released for various interventions on receipt of viable proposals as per the extant guidelines of the respective schemes. The details of funds released and utilised under these schemes during the last five years are as follows:

(Rs. In crore)

Year

Funds released/utilised

2020-21

392.98

2021-22

651.86

2022-23

428.60

2023-24

465.85

2024-25

486.35

The details regarding State-wise number of beneficiaries including women weavers/artisans under schemes of Handloom and Handicraft sectors during the last five years are given below.

In order to encourage ST communities, the Ministry of Textiles provides additional incentives to them to sustain and augment their business. Some of the benefits provided to ST weavers/artisans across the country are:

State-wise number of weavers/artisans including women under schemes of Handloom and Handicraft sectors during the last five years

SI. No.

State

Weavers benefitted

Artisan benefitted

Andhra Pradesh

85,201

17,597

Arunachal Pradesh

1,356

2,500

Assam

46,120

21,163

Bihar

5,968

15,111

Chhattisgarh

7,509

4,530

Delhi

172

12,965

Goa

27

2,120

Gujarat

3,192

29,977

Haryana

3,514

7,435

Himachal Pradesh

2,319

15,136

Jammu & Kashmir

4,551

24,987

Jharkhand

5,713

9,674

Karnataka

25,440

12,894

Kerala

17,140

10,331

Madhya Pradesh

4,657

42,740

Maharashtra

4,515

18,996

Manipur

30,009

15,193

Meghalaya

494

4,426

Mizoram

2,617

2,350

Nagaland

1,073

4,730

Odisha

34,538

16,210

Puducherry

1,520

4,460

Punjab

567

9,310

Rajasthan

1,465

29,992

Sikkim

81

2,310

Tamil Nadu

1,25,463

13,806

Telangana

44,871

8,984

Tripura

1,749

16,230

Uttar Pradesh

1,20,818

1,04,054

Uttarakhand

5,302

8,315

West Bengal

55,964

14,531

All India (non-state specific)

1,060

7,263

Total

6,44,985

5,10,320

Besides, 1,810 artisans benefitted in   A & N Islands, 750 in  Chandigarh, 50 in Daman & Diu and 3,264 in  Ladakh.

Note:  71% of the handloom weaver population and 64% of the artisan population are women hence the maximum benefits are being given to women weavers/artisans.

This information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF TEXTILES SHRI GIRIRAJ SINGH in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.