For taking comprehensive view on the schemes of government of India for handloom and handicraft sectors, a meeting of state textiles ministers was held on Friday in New Delhi. Minister of Textiles and Information & Broadcasting Smriti Zubin Irani presided over the meeting with Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta and Secretary Textiles, Anant Kumar Singh.
Secretary textiles highlighted the crucial role of state governments in identification of weavers and artisans and their active participation in implementation of the government of India schemes. A detailed presentation on schemes of government of India for development of handloom and handicraft sectors was made by the concerned development commissioners.
Minister of textiles and information & broadcasting reiterated the belief in cooperative federalism and appealed state ministers and representatives to play a pivotal role in decision making for the growth of the textiles sector.
Underlining the need for all-round development of weavers and artisans, the minister requested officials at the centre and the states to ensure that the benefits of all government of India schemes, like Ujjwala Yojana, Swachhta Abhiyan, reach the beneficiaries along with textiles ministry initiatives. She said, “India Handloom Brand launched by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a bridge between weavers, manufacturers and consumers, ensuring increased earnings for weavers and quality products for consumers.”
The minister urged everyone present at the meeting to “encourage stakeholders to register their products with India Handloom Brand”. She also requested state ministers to “set targets and regularly review activities at handloom and handicraft clusters”. She emphasised the need for educating weavers and artisans and their families by encouraging them to enroll with NIOS and IGNOU through initiatives taken by the ministry of textiles.
State ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were present at the meeting along with senior officials of the ministry of textiles and development commissioners for handloom and handicrafts.

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