Need for the Developmental Revolution
Government has been working hard for the ailed Handlooms sector since long. But in spite of its endless efforts and initiatives the sectors seems to decline anyway. There is the situation where artisans, village and cottage industries, micro enterprises are facing the following problems:
- Discrete and unstructured output
- Lower scale of production and economies
- Lower quality standards
- Sluggish credit support
- Lower preference to this particular sector
- Marketing hitch-ups
- Obsolete technology
Advantages of Cluster Scheme
Impacts of the Scheme
- Sales comprehensiveness
- Design Development
This process involves customization of the designs and products as per the requirements of the customers. Emphasis has also been laid on developing designs for each season i.e., summer, spring, winter, autumn, etc.
- Encouragement of weavers in export activities
The weavers are encouraged to bring out export-oriented products to provide a boost to the handloom exports. This attempt has not only been helpful in providing continuous employment but also increased wages to the weavers and craftsmen.
- Product diversification
Switching over to the marketable varieties and better value-added products such as home furnishings, foot-mats, made-ups, kitchen materials, other utility items, etc is also a major step to grab the consumer market keeping in mind their tastes and preferences.
- Setting up of Apparel Parks
The idea of Apparel Park is to start production of apparels and provide handsome employment opportunities to the local weavers. The Apparel Park at Tiruppur has an annual export turnover of Rs. 1500 crore providing direct employment to about 7000 persons. Similarly, the Park at Chennai is supposed to provide employment to about 10,000 persons and the expected value of exports will be around Rs.2000 crore as and when completed.
Benefits to the Weavers
- The Co-operative Handloom Weavers' Savings and Security Scheme
- Central Thrift Fund Scheme contributing a part of per rupee earned to the savings of the weavers
- Family Pension Scheme
- Cooperative Handloom Weavers' Old Age Pension Scheme
- Weavers' House cum Workshed Scheme
- Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana Scheme (Insurance Scheme For Handloom Weavers)The insurance amount payable to the handloom weavers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana Scheme is as detailed below:
- Health Insurance Scheme For Handloom Weavers with ICICI Lombard
- Awarding Scholarships to the weavers and students
Conclusion
We see a bright future for handloom sector in India past 2015, even if it's the most morose analysis. Though, the working conditions for handloom
weavers are likely to beg off which can only be averted if proper interventions
are initiated and implemented in this scheme. Government is likely to reduce
its role further; competition is likely to increase from other sub-sectors of
Indian textile industry, with government playing an adherent role. However, the
bright future of handloom sector is ensured by the very trait of this
competition i.e., striking at the weakest point at the best time. Environmental
changes and emphasis on conservation of natural resources should be able to
lend a helpful hand the handloom sector. However, one needs active government
support here in all the states and clusters. Markets, both domestic and
foreign, would continue to demand handloom products given the exclusivity and
niche factors inherent in handloom production but handloom sector would be
constrained by the raw material accessibility issues in at least few clusters,
if not all. Anyhow, these clusters caters to the needs by providing knowledge
of the local throng of the area, skills, workers and resources of production
which help them to survive the competitive market and achieve higher economies
of scale as compared to non-cluster organizations. These clusters, though
multifarious, have the capability to magnetize the resources and efficient
workers from distant locations as well.
References
- http://www.nabard.org/databank/IARD%20Web/csidfiles/Development%20of%20Micro%20&%20Small%20Enterprises.pdf
- http://www.tea-india.org/Contents/PolicyDocuments/Textile%20policy%20Note%20__Tamilnadu2006-07.pdf
Image Courtesy:
- indiafashionexpo.com/.../images/saree495ife.jpg
- www.utsavsarees.org/.../SZA450_thumbnail.jpg
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