🔆 National Handloom Sector: Heritage, Challenges & Support

📍 Sector Overview
✅ India has the largest number of handlooms in the world – a symbol of self-reliance, culture & rural employment.
✅ Employs over 35 lakh weavers, largely women & marginalized groups.
✅ Integral to India’s freedom movement (Swadeshi) & craft identity

📍 Key Features
✅ Decentralised, eco-friendly, low-capital & employment-intensive
✅ High cultural diversity – Banarasi, Kanchipuram, Chanderi, Paithani, Pochampally, etc.
✅ Linked to GI Tags, One District One Product (ODOP), and vocal for local initiatives

📍 Challenges
✅ Competition from powerlooms & imported fabrics
✅ Irregular incomes, ageing artisan base
✅ Weak design-market linkages
✅ Low penetration of tech, e-commerce & global branding

📍 Government Support Initiatives
✅ National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP)
✅ Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme
✅ India Handloom Brand – Quality assurance for high-end markets
✅ e-Dhaga App – Direct access to yarn supply chain
✅ PM Vishwakarma Yojana – Credit + training support
✅ National Handloom Day – Observed on 7th August, commemorating the Swadeshi movement (1905)

📝 Prelims Question (2025)
Q. Consider the following statements about the handloom sector in India:
1. It is the second-largest employment generator in the rural economy after agriculture.
2. The India Handloom Brand guarantees GI certification to all products.
3. National Handloom Day commemorates the launch of the Swadeshi movement.

Which of the above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 3 only

✅ Answer: (a)
Explanation: India Handloom Brand ensures quality, not GI certification.

📝 Mains Question (GS1/GS3)
Q. Examine the socio-economic significance of the handloom sector in India. What measures are needed to make handloom sustainable in the face of modern industrial competition?

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