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Powerloom, handloom sector to be energised with solar power

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December 03, 2022 Millions of families depending on powerloom and handloom sector for a living in 34 weaver-dominated districts of Uttar Pradesh are set to benefit from the recent approval of the proposal for energising the sector with solar power in a phased manner.

Under the proposed scheme, the general category weavers and those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes category will get a subsidy of 50 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.

The state has a rich tradition of textile industry for centuries with handloom coming first, followed by powerloom. A total of 34 districts of the state are dominated by handlooms while the number of handlooms, handloom weavers and weavers’ cooperatives are 1.91 lakh, 0.80 lakh and 20,421, respectively.

Mau, Ambedkar Nagar, Varanasi, Meerut, Kanpur, Jhansi, Etawah and Sant Kabir Nagar districts are dominated by powerlooms. The number of powerlooms and its weavers in Uttar Pradesh are 2.58 lakh and 5.50 lakh, respectively.

“Connecting handlooms and powerlooms with solar energy in a phased manner is in line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's intention to make Uttar Pradesh the textile hub of the country. Since this scheme is to be implemented in a phased manner, the decision of the UP cabinet is expected to gradually end the dependence of weavers on electricity,” Minority Welfare Minister Danish Azad Ansari said here on Thursday.

According to the plan, the government will give incentives to weavers using solar energy in their workshops and also provide them with solar inverters. This will not only help in saving energy but also lead to manufacturing of eco-friendly products, improving the quality of production. With increased production, the price will also be competitive compared to similar products in the market.

The Yogi government has made a provision of Rs 10 crore in the budget to energise the powerloom sector with solar power. In this sequence, the government is working on a plan to link 50,000 weavers of Varanasi with banks for their uplift and to ensure that dearth of capital does not become a hurdle in their work. Besides, the weavers will also get grants under the One District One Product scheme.

The government will run a campaign to link 50,000 weavers with banks. It was decided in a meeting of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise department and the bankers that relaxation will be given in the formalities as per the requirement in this regard. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will also help in this campaign.

Over 25,000 weavers are already registered on the portal of Handloom department. With these efforts of the government, this unorganised sector is gradually being taken into the fold of the organised sector.

Loom and powerloom have been the foundation of Uttar Pradesh’s prosperous textile industry. There are a lot of skilled weavers in this area. However, the irony is that these weavers, who have made silk sarees of Banaras a brand in the country and the world, fall into the unorganised sector and have not been getting a fair price for their skills. The Yogi government wants to bring them into the organised sector to honour them and their skills. This is at the core of all schemes for the betterment of weavers.

In accordance with the intention of the chief minister, ‘Letters of Comfort’ have been issued in favour of 16 textile units under UP Handloom, Powerloom, Silk, Textile and Garmenting Policy-2017. An investment of Rs 196.51 crore was made by these units while a total of 3,243 persons got employment from this investment.

In this context, under the National Handloom Development Programme, proposals for 19 handloom clusters have been sent to the Government of India for approval whereas a financial assistance of Rs 25.55 crore has been proposed for the development of these clusters. On receipt of the approval, 2,591 handloom weavers will be benefited.

In addition, under the Textiles ministry's PM Mitra Scheme, the process of acquisition of land has started for the establishment of Mega Integrated Textile and Apparel Park in Hardoi. About five lakh people are likely to get employment after the establishment of textile units in the park. Land has been arranged for the establishment of Apparel Park in Noida. About 115 export-oriented garment units will be set up in this apparel park with an investment of Rs 3,000 crore, which is likely to provide employment to about two lakh people. About five lakh people are likely to get employment after the establishment of textile units in the park.

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