The Union Ministry of Textiles has provided substantial financial and developmental support to handloom weavers in Odisha, according to details shared in the Rajya Sabha. Minister of State for Textiles, Pabitra Margherita, informed the house on Friday about a multi-faceted initiative aimed at empowering the traditional weaving community.
Direct Financial Aid and Skill Development
In a significant move, the ministry has disbursed Rs 8.38 crore in financial assistance to 6,572 weavers spread across 17 handloom clusters in the Cuttack and Bargarh districts. This support covers the period from the financial year 2015-16 up to November of the current year. Beyond direct aid, the focus has been on skill enhancement and financial inclusion.
A total of 5,856 weavers have received training to upgrade their techniques and business acumen. Furthermore, to ensure social security, over 71,442 weavers are now enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) schemes. For market access, the ministry organized 69 marketing events and facilitated 7,685 Mudra loans for weavers to become self-reliant entrepreneurs.
Institutional Support and Infrastructure Push
The government has also worked on creating stronger institutional frameworks for weavers. Nine producer companies have been established during this period, specifically to aid handloom weavers, including women. Monthly financial aid is being provided to 56 award-winning weavers to honour and support their craftsmanship.
To aid in design innovation, design resource centres have been set up in 16 Weavers’ Service Centres across the country, with one located in Bhubaneswar. The 'Handloom Marketing Assistance' programme is actively run to boost the national and international reach of handloom products. Special emphasis is being placed on promoting the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for unique handloom products like the renowned Odisha Ikat.
National-Level Mega Textile Parks Approved
In a major infrastructure development that will benefit the entire textile sector, the government has approved the establishment of seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM Mitra) Parks. These parks will be located in Virudhnagar (Tamil Nadu), Warangal (Telangana), Navsari (Gujarat), Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Dhar (Madhya Pradesh), and Amravati (Maharashtra).
This large-scale project, which has an outlay of Rs 4,445 crore, is scheduled to run until the financial year 2027-28. It aims to create world-class industrial infrastructure to make the Indian textile industry globally competitive. The minister provided these details in a written reply to a question posed by MP Debashish Samantaray.
The comprehensive data presented highlights a sustained government effort to revitalize the handloom sector through direct beneficiary support, skill development, market linkage, and massive infrastructure creation, aiming to preserve heritage and boost economic opportunities for weavers.
