Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM unveils Handloom Mark

"I am truly delighted to be here today to launch an extremely important national initiative of our government, the Handloom Mark. The launch of the Handloom Mark is one among the many initiatives being taken by the UPA government to restore the vitality and vigour for this extremely important segment of our economy. I compliment the Hon'ble Minister, Shri Shankarsinh Vaghelaji and all those who have been associated with this concept. This is an idea which should have been implemented long ago. I whole-heartedly endorse the appeal of Shri Shankarsinh Vaghelaji that all of us should make an effort to use handloom as wearing apparel atleast once a week. I am very happy that it is now being implemented by our Government. It is a token of our sincere and firm commitment to handlooms and more importantly, the millions of weavers in our country.

Indian handlooms are among our proudest and most enduring civilisational heritage. The outstanding weaving tradition they represent has been kept alive by skilled weavers from generation to generation. The handloom sector, therefore, reflects not only the traditions of the weaving communities all over India but also the socio-cultural heritage of our entire nation.

The popularity of Indian handlooms has, since time immemorial, not only provided employment but has also kept alive our rich heritage of traditional craftsmanship. The level of artistry and intricacy achieved in handloom fabrics is unparalleled and beyond the scope of modern machines. We are all aware that apart from spices, it was Indian handlooms that attracted traders from Europe in earlier centuries. Many members of the nobility in the European countries in the seventeenth century use to take pride in wearing Indian handloom textiles. It is a testimony to the agelessness of this craft and design that handlooms are still popular with young and old alike.

Handlooms have a crucial role to play in supporting and strengthening the rural economy of our country. Apart from agriculture, they are the largest source of employment in rural areas. As many as 35 lakh looms are in operation today, providing employment to almost 65 lakh persons. A substantial proportion are women and persons belonging to minorities and under-privileged classes. Therefore, the contribution of the handloom sector to textile production, employment and export earnings is significant not only from an economic angle but also from a larger social perspective as well.

Our government recognizes the primary importance of the handloom sector in sustaining and providing gainful employment, especially in rural areas. With the end of the quota regime in global textile trade, the demand for handlooms may well increase significantly. It is expected that the domestic and international market for handlooms will expand and per capita consumption will also increase. However, handlooms face severe competition from power-looms and manmade fiber. While changes in the international trading regime have created new opportunities, they also and pose new threats to handlooms. We need to work hard to exploit the opportunities for renewed growth that have been created in developed market economies. The Handloom Mark is one such initiative to brand our handlooms and secure for them a high value-added niche market for this highly prized product.

We must evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of our handloom sector and take steps to ensure that the sector benefits from the more open trading regime that is now emerging. Handlooms have to be promoted as a high-value, niche product which are the result of skilled craftsmanship arising out of a centuries old heritage of our country. This will give them a premium position in textile markets around the world.

Our Government is committed to help handloom weavers meet the challenges of globalization and modernization. We are aware of the problems confronting handlooms. The National Common Minimum Programme makes a firm commitment to ensuring the welfare of the handloom sector, especially the weaving community. Our initiatives will cover all aspects of production and raw material supply, design and technical assistance, training and skill up-gradation, and marketing.

Last October, the Ministry of Textiles, under the leadership of Shri Shankarsinh Vaghelaji launched a life insurance scheme for weavers, the Mahatma Gandhi Bunker Bima Yojana, in collaboration with LIC. I am also happy that the Ministry has launched a Health Insurance Scheme, in collaboration with ICICI Lombard, to provide health facilities to weavers and their families. I am happy to learn that 230 new Yarn Depots will be opened to provide easy access to yarn for all clusters with more than a thousand looms. Easy availability of yarn will address one of the most pressing problems faced by weavers.

The handloom sector is characterized by clusters. Our Government recognized the need for an integrated and coordinated cluster based approach to the handloom sector and therefore, launched the Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Scheme last year. Twenty clusters are being developed at a cost of Rupees two crores per cluster. This year, we will cover another 100 clusters. In each of these clusters, we are focusing on quality and design upgradation to improve the marketability of handloom fabrics. The reversal of the decline in handloom fabric production after 2004 gives us confidence that we may be able to revive the sector if we sustain, as we must, our efforts over a period of time.

I am aware that access to credit and cost of credit are two problems facing the handloom sector. Our Government has taken steps to ease this constraint. In this years budget, the Finance Minister had announced that a scheme similar to the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, which is available for the machine made textile sector, will be introduced for the handloom sector. This will provide capital subsidy for looms. I understand that handloom cooperatives suffer from two problems in accessing credit. Firstly, the cost of credit is on the higher side. The other is that credit to handloom cooperatives has been choked because of a debt overhang. Considering the importance of handlooms, we need to address these problems on a priority basis. I have asked the Finance Minister to consider the feasibility of extending the low interest facility provided for agricultural loans to handloom weavers as well. I have also asked the Textile and Finance Ministers to look at the problem of debt which is afflicting handloom cooperatives so that this can be rescheduled or cooperatives recapitalised in a manner similar to that done for cooperative banks through the Vadyanathan Committee. I am hopeful that we will resolve this problem, hopefully, in the next three months.

The Handloom Mark launched today will provide a collective identity to Indian hand woven products. I compliment the National Institute of Design for designing an aesthetically appealing logo. I hope this new Handloom Mark will help consumers distinguish between genuine hand woven fabric and power loom and machine-made fabric. The Handloom Mark should emerge as the hallmark of high quality and high creativity. It will be operational throughout the country. Individual weavers, weavers cooperative societies, master weavers, retailers and exporters will all benefit from the use of this Mark.

I therefore, compliment the Hon'ble Minister for Textiles, Shri Shankarsinh Vaghelaji and all the officials of the Ministry of Textiles for having taken this exceedingly important initiative. I wish you all well in your future endeavours."