Govt mulls loan waiver scheme for weavers, says Maran

The government was actively considering a loan waiver scheme for weavers on the lines of the farm loan waiver programme, Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran told the Lok Sabha today.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, he said there was a proposal to waive loans of weavers on the lines of the farm loan waiver.

The proposal was with the finance ministry and was under active consideration, Maran said. The minister said the government had launched an insurance scheme for weavers that was availed of by 1.7 million weavers last year. He said, this year, 1.8 million weavers had availed of the scheme.

There were 2.52 million handloom units according to available statistics, he said, adding that most of the units, except a few in Orissa and Kerala, were functional. Maran said 68 handloom cooperative societies in Kerala and 733 in Orissa were non-functional.