Minister of state for textiles Ajay Tamta has said in the Rajya Sabha that the Handloom weavers do not come under the GST regime as their total turnover is below Rs 20 lakh and subsidy worth Rs 6,000 crore has been allocated for the sector.
He said in order to encourage the setting up of solar power handloom units, the government provides a subsidy of 90 per cent to scheduled tribe weavers, 75 per cent to scheduled caste weavers and 50 per cent to the general category weavers.
Tamta said the government will also hold an all-India handloom programme for weavers in Guwahati on August seven to create awareness about various programmes initiated to promote the handloom sector.
To a question, the minister clarified that there is no proposal to offer 20 per cent year-long rebate on the handloom products. But, the government may consider this suggestion, he added.
Meanwhile, Textile Minister Smriti Irani said the government has launched the India Handloom Brand (IHB) for branding of high quality handloom products and as of June 30, a total sale of Rs 159 crore has been reported on this account. IHB has partnered with various retail stores to showcase and sell its exclusive products and a total of Rs 3.65 crore has been reported so far through these stores, she said.
“20 e-commerce entities have also been engaged for online marketing of handloom products and as of June 30, a total sale of Rs 10.62 crore has been generated on account of online marketing handloom products,” the minister added.
– Apparel and Textile News, Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel
