National Handloom Day was celebrated on 7thAugust, which manifests India’s diversity and the dexterity of countless weavers and artisans.
Context
National Handloom Day was celebrated on 7thAugust, which manifests India’s diversity and the dexterity of countless weavers and artisans.
About the National Handloom Day
- The first National Handloom Day was inaugurated on 7 August 2015 in Chennai.
- It was started to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on 7th August 1905, to encourage indigenous industries and handloom weavers.
- In 2015, the Government decided to designate the 7th August, as the National Handloom Day, every year.
- On this day, the contribution of the handloom-weaving community ishighlightedfor the socio-economic development of our country.
Handloom sector in India
- The export of handloom products from India was valued at US$ 343.69 million in FY19.
- In FY20, the export stood at US$ 319.02 million.
- The handloom products export from April 2020 to March 2021 was US$ 223.19 million and for March 2021, it was US$ 23.43 million.
- Export is promoted by the HEPC.
- Nearly 15% of cloth production in India is from the handloom sector.
- Production of hand-woven fabric from India constitutes 95% of the global production.
The Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC)
- This is a statutory body which is constituted under the Ministry of Textiles, to promote the export of all handloom’s products.
- HEPC was constituted in 1965 with 96 members and it currently has about 1,500 members.
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Challenges being faced by the handloom sector:
- Low productivity in comparison to the powerloom and mill sector.
- Limited scope of technological up-gradation and for the improvement in poor weaving activity.
- The tendency of skilled labour to shift to other sectors.
- Constraints related to credit availability.
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