Higher Fund Allocation To Handloom Units Planned

The government is committed to make higher allocations for the handloom sector. It is also planning to formulate a scheme to modernise the handloom development centres and project packaging by this sector.

Enhanced official assistance to handloom weavers under workshed and workshed-cum-housing scheme from Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000 in rural areas and Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 in urban areas would be the first step.

Announcing this at a handloom national awards function here yesterday, where 89 weavers cooperatives were given awards for their outstanding performance during 1994-95 and 1995-96, Union textiles minister RL Jalappa said the government was committed to improving the quality of life of the handloom weavers.

 

Further, Jalappa said the Janata cloth scheme, which was introduced in 1976, would be abolished by the end of 1998-99. He pointed out that areas of operation of the scheme had already been reduced to seven states from 15.

He also announced enhanced government assistance for worksheds and workshed-cum-housing for weavers and better insurance schemes and outlined a series of new measures on the marketing side. The government, he said, had identified 40 handloom concentration districts and would request the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (Nabard) to give them priority credit.

Jalappa said the condition for state government guarantee for availing credit had been waived off in respect of cooperative banks performing well. This will make 70 per cent of the banks eligible for providing loans against bank guarantees. Similarly, the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development has delinked the flow of credit with provision of interest subsidies by the state government in advance.

The textiles ministry had, earlier, identified 40 handloom concentration areas which Nabard had circulated to its banks as thrust areas for loan in handloom sector.

Nabard has already asked the banks to meet the requirements of these clusters in its district credit plan on priority basis. This, it is expected, will increase credit flow.

Textiles secretary Prabhat Kumar said the government was committed to ensure that areas reserved for handloom sector was not encroached by anyone else.