1.

Introduction
The handloom sector is the second largest employer in India, providing employmen
t to about 65
lakh persons. This sector is unorganised and dispersed. There is absence of mark
et intelligence,
poor exposure to new technologies, product diversification, stiff competition wi
th mechanized
sector, inadequate infrastructure & common facilities, lack of adequate working
capital etc.
Large handloom clusters, like Varanasi, require massive investment for its integ
rated and holistic
development. With this background, Comprehensive Handlooms Cluster Development s
cheme
(CHCDS) has been launched. Details of the scheme is available at www.ministryoft
extiles.gov.in

Infrastructure and Investment

Investment in handloom sector has thus far been limited to input supply costs. T
here is no investment on sectoral growth. While there have been some piece-meal
projects such as workshed-cum-housing and project package schemes, they merely p
erpetuate the existing conditions. There has been no thinking on basic requireme
nts of the producer. Facilities such as land, water and electricity need to be p
rovided in many places that are a harbour for handloom manufacturing. On the oth
er hand, powerlooms are getting more usable support from the government in procu
ring land, water and electricity.
Places like Pochampally (for e.g.) suffer from water pollution, where the Musi r
iver drains the wastewaters of Hyderabad city. In many places across Andhra Prad
esh, the only water available is groundwater, which is laden with salts and othe
r contaminants. This affects the quality of production, economics and also the s
tructure of production. Weavers simply have to put in more time to procure water
for drinking and other needs, as well as compromise on dyeing quality.
Common facilities have not been developed such as godowns, credit facilities (ba
nks in the vicinity), roads, proper sanitation, etc. have not been provided anyw
here.
In recent years, the investment profile in handloom sector has also been changin
g. Traditional investors -- known as master weavers -- who had been investing fo
r several decades in handloom production have been moving away, or have become r
eluctant to invest in new designs. There is a need for new programmes that enabl
e the inflow of fresh investments and emergence of new entrepreneurs into the ha
ndloom sector.
4. Design improvements
While the weavers face a dismal situation for their livelihood, there is a large
market for India's handloom products both domestically and internationally. Han
dloom production has significant contribution to the national GDP and export ear
nings. According to the Ministry of Textiles, export earnings as late as 1998-99
was Rs.1,956 crore. Current figures are expected to be around the same. (1 cror
e = 10 million.)
Businessmen fear that the production cost of yarn, which has already increased
in the local market because of the rise in cotton prices in the international ma
rket and power shortage, will increase further because of the Indian ban on cott
on export.

Handloom weavers are facing severe livelihood crisis because of adverse governme
nt policies, globalisation and changing socio-economic conditions. The national
and state governments do have several schemes pertaining to production inputs, m
arket support and development, meant to safeguard the interests of the weaving c
ommunity. Ineffective implementation of the schemes and the changed context of t
extile industry, increasing competition from the power loom and mill sectors hav
e been largely responsible for the crisis in the handlooms.
Lack of information to weavers regarding various policies and schemes is no less
a significant cause for the dwindling fortunes of the weaver community. Even go
vernment departments and implementing agencies related to handloom suffer from i
nadequate information and data resulting in a widening gap between policy formul
ation and implementation. In the recent decades, due to lack of information and
fast paced changes, practices in handloom sector became static and apparently re
dundant.
Presently, government policies are increasingly influenced by the globalisation
processes and are related to WTO-induced trade regimes. As the controls on expor
ts get liberalised and domestic markets open up, the textile scenario in the cou
ntry is likely to undergo drastic changes in terms of skills, inputs like design
s, market trends and changing demands therein.
In earlier planning processes at the national level, development of handloom sec
tor was seen as a stimulation for rural development, being based on local resour
ces, local craftsmanship and catering primarily for local markets. In the first
decades following India's independence, all national policies emphasised this. H
owever, current thinking at the apex policy level is that the handloom sector is
a redundant profession and is a burden on the government exchequer. Political l
eadership, in general, has been avoiding taking up cudgels on behalf of the weav
er community This sector contributes nearly 19% of the total cloth produced in t
he country and also adds substantially to export earnings. Handloom is unparalle
led in its flexibility and versatility, permitting experimentation and encouragi
ng innovations. The strength of Handloom lies in the introducing innovative desi
gns, which cannot be replicated by the Power loom sector. Thus, Handloom forms a
part of the heritage of India and exemplifies the richness and diversity of our
country and the artistry of the weavers.