7th August was declared as National Handloom Day for the first time in 2015, 110 years after the Swadeshi movement which started on this date in the year 1905. To promote handlooms in a big way, the Ministry of Textiles has undertaken many new initiatives.
Initiatives
- The government is aiming to develop ten Craft and Handloom Villages in the country so that tourists from across the globe can visit them and learn the rich legacy of Indian weavers and lend support to the Make in India initiative. Almost 95% of the handwoven fabrics used globally are produced in India.
- The students from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) are contributing to the upgradation of 9 out of 28 Weavers’ Service Centres across the country in terms of design, marketing and research. These centres are located in Delhi, Srinagar, Jaipur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Guwahati, Kanchipuram and Bhubaneswar.
- The ‘My Handloom’ portal launched will help in connecting state government undertakings, agencies and cooperative societies with the Centre’s schemes for weavers to know about their status and benefits.
- A mobile app and backend website for Handloom Mark Scheme were launched. Handloom Mark is being promoted to provide collective identity to the authentic handloom products. Textiles Committee Mumbai has developed the mobile app with a backend web portal to completely digitise the process of registration and the app is in English and 10 Indian languages.
- The ‘My Handloom’ portal launched will enable weavers as well as other organizations to apply for various benefits under the various handloom schemes like Block Level Clusters, Handloom Marketing Assistance and Awards.
- In the face of the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic, and inability to hold conventional marketing events such as exhibitions, melas, etc. the Government is providing online marketing opportunities to weavers and handloom producers. By taking a step towards realizing “Atma Nirbhar Bharat”, the Handloom Export Promotion Council is organizing the Virtual Fair. The fair will connect more than 150 participants from different regions of the country showcasing their products with unique designs and skills.