India wants to promote its handloom industry and ensure that weavers are paid their rightful wages. Steps will be taken to catapult the industry to global levels, including enlarging the scope of e-commerce for handloom products. PM Modi The government has asked the film industry to popularise handlooms through films.

Textiles Ministry has been asked to institute awards for innovative design and branding initiatives in handloom. The government is committed to enhancing the income level of handloom weavers apart from putting in place a robust social cover for the weavers’ families.

The income of the weavers would be directly transferred to their bank accounts to prevent middle men from taking advantage. Three new social security schemes have been initiated for the benefit of the unorganised sector.

The Indian handloom industry, which employs about 4.3 million people, is the second largest employment provider for the rural population in India after agriculture. The sector accounts for around 15 per cent of the total cloth produced in the country excluding wool, silk and yarn. The country supplies 95 per cent of the world demand for hand woven fabric.

The US is a major importer of handloom products from India followed by UK and Germany. France, Belgium, UAE, Netherlands and Canada are some of the other export destinations for Indian handloom products.