Has the Union Budget neglected the interests of handloom weavers?
Stakeholders of the handloom industry say that the setting up of textile parks will not help in pulling the handloom weavers from the clutches of unemployment and poverty
- Feb 3, 2021,
- Updated Feb 3, 2021 7:43 PM IST
The announcement to set up seven mega textile parks in the Union Budget 21-22 is considered a great move towards making India a sought-after textile and apparel outsourcing hub, a distinction it has been consistently losing out to the likes of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and of course China.
However, the Indian textile industry, which employs 4.5 crore people, also includes 35.22 lakh handloom weavers. Stakeholders of the handloom industry say that the setting up of textile parks will not help in pulling the handloom weavers from the clutches of unemployment and poverty.
"The textile parks are a good step towards regulating the industry, but it's more for the export market. They are not meant for weavers. As far as the handloom weavers are concerned, not much concern has been mentioned anywhere in the budget. More than 50 per cent of the members of the craft industry consist of women and yet it has been ignored," points out Jaya Jaitly, Founder, Dastkari Haat Samiti.
The announcement to set up seven mega textile parks in the Union Budget 21-22 is considered a great move towards making India a sought-after textile and apparel outsourcing hub, a distinction it has been consistently losing out to the likes of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and of course China.
However, the Indian textile industry, which employs 4.5 crore people, also includes 35.22 lakh handloom weavers. Stakeholders of the handloom industry say that the setting up of textile parks will not help in pulling the handloom weavers from the clutches of unemployment and poverty.
"The textile parks are a good step towards regulating the industry, but it's more for the export market. They are not meant for weavers. As far as the handloom weavers are concerned, not much concern has been mentioned anywhere in the budget. More than 50 per cent of the members of the craft industry consist of women and yet it has been ignored," points out Jaya Jaitly, Founder, Dastkari Haat Samiti.