NEW DELHI: Emphasising that the Centre was deeply concerned over the plight of handloom weavers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here on Wednesday that he had asked Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to consider extending the low-interest loan facility to handloom weavers as was done for farmers.

Launching a quality mark for handloom products on the lines of the wool mark and the silk mark, Manmohan Singh said he had asked Mr. Chidambaram and Textiles Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela to look into the issue of debt relief for handloom cooperatives by either rescheduling or recapitalising loans as was done for cooperative banks.

"I am hopeful that we will resolve this problem in the next three months," he said.

Gainful employment

Noting that the handloom industry was the second largest source of employment in rural areas, next only to agriculture, he said the Centre fully recognised the sector's importance in sustaining and providing gainful employment.

"Our Government is committed to help handloom weavers meet the challenges of globalisation and modernisation.We are aware of the problems confronting them.

The National Common Minimum Programme makes a firm commitment to ensure the welfare of the handloom sector, especially the weaver community. Our initiatives will cover all aspects of production and supply of raw material, design, technical assistance, training, skill upgradation and marketing."

Stressing the need to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the handloom sector, Dr. Singh called for promoting handlooms as a high-value niche product and a result of skilled craftsmanship. This would give them a premium position in the global textiles market, he added.

Agelessness of craft

"We are all aware that apart from spices, it was Indian handloom that attracted traders from Europe during the early centuries. It is a testimony to the agelessness of this craft that handloom is still popular among the young and the old alike."

He said the launch of the handloom mark was one among the several initiatives taken by the UPA Government to restore the vitality of the sector. "This [the handloom mark] is an idea which should have been implemented long ago. I am happy the UPA is implementing it now. It is a token of our sincere commitment to the handlooms industry and more importantly, the millions of weavers in the country."

Later, Mr. Vaghela said the Textiles Ministry had sought a Rs. 1,000-crore debt relief package for handloom cooperatives. The proposal to extend the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme to the handloom sector would be implemented from September.

The details for extending the scheme are being fine-tuned, he said.

Worksheds with 10 or more looms would be eligible for a 40 per cent subsidy of the capital cost of building and machinery up to a maximum of Rs. 40 lakh.

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