The National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSFDC) and Development Commissioner (handlooms) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to help scheduled caste (SC) weavers and their families by promoting production and marketing of high value quality handlooms products at block level cluster in various states.

MoU was signed in the presence of union minister of social justice & empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot and union textile minister Smriti Irani.

Handlooms sector is a part of the textile industry, which is the second largest economic activity after agriculture in India. There are around 44 lakh handloom weavers in the country out of which 3.90 lakh are SC weavers. Under the cluster approach, new strategy for promoting production and marketing of high value quality handloom products shall be adopted to ensure more earnings of the SC handloom weavers.

Under the memorandum, both parties shall popularise the schemes of Development Commissioner (handlooms) amongst the SC weavers through awareness programmes and advertisements in electronic/print media in their concentrated areas and collaborate for capacity building including skill upgradation and economic development of SC weavers and their families for achieving the desired outcome. Exhibitions/fairs shall be organised by both the parties for providing marketing assistance to SC weavers for enhancing their earnings.

Both the parties shall also organise relevant skill development programmes for upgradation of skills and also for sharing knowledge and experience. This endeavour shall enable SC weavers to improve their skills for production and marketing of high value quality handloom products and better marketing linkages and therefore to have more income.

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