With an eye on providing relief for the weaving community, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the finance minister to consider extending the facility of low-interest loans to handloom weavers, a scheme already available to the agricultural sector. | |
| Launching a branding initiative for handloom products called "Handloom Mark" at a function here on Wednesday, Singh said he had spoken to both the finance and textile ministers to look at the problem of debt-afflicted handloom cooperatives. |
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| "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 Vaidyanathan Committee," Singh said, adding that he was hopeful the issue would be resolved within the next three months. |
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| Textile Minister Shankersinh Vaghela estimated the debt of handloom cooperatives at "over Rs 1,000 crore." |
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| Noting that credit access and cost were two problems facing the sector, Singh said the government was looking at introducing a similar scheme to the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for textile for the handloom sector. |
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| He announced that 230 new yarn depots would be opened to provide easy access to yarn for all clusters that had more than a thousand looms. |
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| He also announced that in addition to the 20 handloom clusters that were being developed at a cost of Rs two crore each, the UPA government planned to cover another 100 clusters this year under the Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Scheme. |
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| The prime minister endorsed the appeal made by Vaghela that all Indians must make it a point to wear handloom produce at least once a week as it provided employment to 65 lakh weavers. |
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