Problem and Prospects of Handloom Industry in India

Handloom sector is the only non-agricultural, commodity producing sector that employs a huge number of workers and yet is dispersed in rural and semi-rural areas it is imperative for the government to protect this industry at any cost. Further, Handlooms are environment-friendly and mostly pollution free industry. Handloom is an independent and autonomous technology. The sector offers scope for sustainable development policies aimed at reduction of negative impacts on environment and ecology. Moreover, the handloom industry supports 32 other sectors like transportation, financial services, marketing services, service and maintenance services and hotels. Finally, some of the handloom sector concentrated places are popular tourist spots, drawing visitors from off places and foreign countries as well. Last but not the least, in spite of all its misfortunes this sector still remains one of the major foreign exchange earners for the nation with huge untapped potentials. All this make it mandatory for the government and other agencies including policy makers to usher in new policies and approaches to salvage this industry and mitigate the sufferings of the millions of weavers.