Nation celebrates National Handloom Day
Launching of Mobile App & Backend Website for Handloom Mark Scheme, inauguration of My Handloom Portal, Virtual Indian Textile Sourcing Fair 2020 and showcasing of Craft Handloom Village, Kullu mark the occasion
Nation celebrates National Handloom Day
New Delhi: Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani extended her greetings on the occasion of the 6th National Handloom Day on Friday.
Addressing a function organized in virtual mode by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India to celebrate National Handloom Day, Irani thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for declaring 7th August as National Handloom Day for the first time in 2015, 110 years after the Swadeshi movement which started on this date in 1905. Paying obeisance to Mahatma Gandhi, Irani said that independence for India was achieved with the help of the spinning wheel.
Irani launched the Mobile App & Backend Website for Handloom Mark Scheme (HLM). The Minister said that the 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. The App is in English and 10 Indian languages and will enable the weavers located at any corner of the country to apply for Handloom Mark registration through the comfort of their homes by click of a button on their mobiles. This app helps ascertain the genuineness and originality of the product through unique and dynamic QR code labels affixed on each handloom product.
Nation celebrates National Handloom Day
She also launched the “My Handloom” portal for individual weavers as well as other organizations for applying for various benefits under the various handloom schemes like Block Level Clusters, Handloom Marketing Assistance and Awards. Inaugurating the portal, she thanked PM for launching the “India Handloom” brand in 2015 on the occasion of the 1st National Handloom Day. She said that till now, 1590 products have been registered under this brand, which has more than 180 product categories. The portal with a single “sign-in” is to act as One-stop shop for information on all handloom schemes which will retain information, and will ensure transparency and provide real-time status update on applications under National handloom Development programme, as also the information on various schemes/interventions such as Mudra Loan Scheme, Weavers’ Insurance, Yarn Supply, distribution of looms and accessories, number of trainings, etc. An Online lottery System for transparent allotment of stalls for various events such as melas, Dilli Haats, etc. has been introduced. The portal will be linked to e-office and DBT portal.
Irani also inaugurated the virtual Indian Textile Sourcing Fair 2020. 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 “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, 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. The Indian Textile Sourcing Fair will be open on 7, 10 and 11th August 2020. The show has already attracted considerable attention of the International Buyers.
Nation celebrates National Handloom Day
A presentation was made on Craft Handloom Village, Kullu, being established in association with District Administration, Kullu. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur expressed gratitude at being able to showcase the handlooms of Himachal and said that handlooms are a symbol of the state’s traditional and ancient heritage. He said that the state is making efforts to implement One District- One Product scheme so that the both the districts and products are able to carve out a distinct identity of their own.
Further, to promote Handloom under media campaign with common hashtag #Vocal4Handmade has been started to promote Handloom, Handloom Products, information about high end handloom products of various regions of the country, their manufacturers, encouraging weavers/artisans to tweet and to publicize and promote the sector amongst common people.
Nation celebrates National Handloom Day
Secretary (Textiles) Ravi Capoor and Development Commissioner (Handlooms) Sanjay Rastogi were also present for the function. The function was widely participated from different corners of the country. Handloom Clusters from across the country, all 28 Weavers’ Service Centres, six Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology, National Handloom Development Corporation, Handloom Exports Promotion Council & NIFT’s Campuses across India were connected. Also, Craft Handloom Village at Kullu and Textiles Committee at Mumbai were connected for the function.
To promote Handlooms in a big way, Ministry of Textiles has undertaken many new initiatives. Steps have been taken to on-board weavers/producers on Government e-Market place (GeM) to enable them supply handloom products directly to Central Govt. Departments.
Ministry of Textiles is also facilitating formation of Producers Companies across the country in the handloom sector as a thrust area with the objective to extend the benefits of various handloom schemes to the weavers/workers, in particular to those who are either working independently or in the fold of Self-Help Groups/Producer Groups.
