Centre eyes more handloom parks to empower 35 lakh weavers, improve quality, says Textiles Ministry official

Handloom

The central government is working on establishing more 'Handloom parks' in the country, from merely two at present, in coordination with state governments, as the intent is to improve the quality of handlooms produced in India, a senior government official told Moneycontrol on Monday.

There are only two Handloom parks in India right now—one in Pochampally, and the other in Kancheepuram—which are providing support to over 20,000 weavers. "One more has been sanctioned in Arani (Tamil Nadu). But we hope such parks are built in other states too," M Beena, Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles told Moneycontrol.

The new park in Arani will have facility to support 14,000 weavers. "It will have complete infrastructure facilities for weavers to industrialise their traditional art of weaving," said Beena, adding that the new parks might come up in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, North East, etc.

Beena further said that India has in total 35.22 lakh weavers right now, and the central government is aiming to provide assistance to all of them, so that more individuals can join the sector. "Handlooms are all in rural areas, and 72% of the weavers are women. It’s important from a social point of view also," she said.

The official further said that the government is working on supporting as well as establishing more "handloom clusters", so that the production of the material increase. A handloom cluster refers to a geographical concentration of handloom weavers and allied workers who are engaged in the production of handwoven textiles.

At present, about 10% of all fabric in India is handlooms, we hope in the coming years, this figure rises, said Beena. She said that the government has received requests from many North Eastern states to support such clusters.

During the period FY16 to FY25, 715 handloom clusters received financial assistance worth Rs 496 crore from the central government, which benefitted about 173,421 weavers.

Meanwhile on trade deal with UK, Beena said that the government is hoping the free trade agreement (FTA) will significantly increase India’s handlooms' exports to the country, and make London a distinct market for the sector.

In 2020-21, the handloom exports to UK stood at Rs 140.2 crore, up 9.7% on year, according to Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). The total handloom exports in FY21 was at Rs 1644.8 crore. In FY23, the total handloom exports stood at Rs 1445.5 crore. The complete data for FY24 and FY25 is not available officially.

"There is a keen interest in UK and other foreign countries, for Indian handlooms that are useful for home décor, bed sheets, cushion cover, table cloth, etc," M Beena, Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles told Moneycontrol in an interaction.

"95% of the world’s handlooms are in India…our export potential will only rise, and FTA with UK will hopefully help," the official said. Currently handlooms account for merely 1-2% of India’s total textile exports, which is valued at $36.71 billion.

Beena said that all the FTAs, signed and under negotiation, will benefit the entire textile sector in increasing their exports from current levels.

According to the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), India will now get duty free access to UK markets. Earlier the duty on textiles were 12%.

In an official release, dated July 27, the government said that in textiles and clothing, India supplies items worth-only $1.79 billion to the UK. "With the FTA promising duty-free access and removal of trade barriers, this sector is also well-positioned to increase its footprint," it said.