Significance of Handloom sector:

=> Heritage-Handloom sector is a symbol of India’s glorious cultural heritage.

=> Soft Power-India’s soft power has long been endorsed by the handloom and handicraft space. ‘Saree diplomacy’ and ‘Khadi diplomacy’ are some such examples.

=> Employment-second-largest source of employment to people, after agriculture.According to the Fourth All India Handloom Census 2019-20, 31.45 lakh households are engaged in handloom, weaving and allied activities.

=> Women empowerment-70% of handloom weavers and allied workers are women.

Handloom sector in Assam:

=> Assam is having the highest number of looms in the country as indicated by the Handloom Census Report.

=> There are 14,01,418 weavers of which 13,88,653 are women.

=> The State is having 11,11,577 looms(remember 11 Lakhs) wherein about 16,43,453 people are involved in weaving and allied activities.

=> Assam is at present also producing 160 million sq metre of hand-woven fabrics by engaging a large number of weavers and looms.

Challenges faced by Handloom sector:

=> Competition from cheap power loom products.

=> Covid 19-Due to the Covid-19 induced lockdowns, norms of social distancing and the resultant economic turbulence, there are no handicraft and handloom exhibitions or markets.

Step taken by the Assam government to support Handloom sector in Budget 2021-22:

Swanirbhar Naari :

=> Direct procurement of handloom items from weavers through ARTFED & AGMC Weavers’

=> Skill training

=> Phase 1 to cover 1.23 lakh beneficiaries

=> Setting up sales counters across India Leveraging e-commerce portals & apps