"Handloom mark" scheme has been introduced by the Union Government to preserve and protect the identity of our handlooms, which are part and parcel of our rich culture and heritage said K. Shanmugham, Assistant Director, Textiles Committee, Union Ministry of Textiles here on Wednesday.
Speaking at a meeting organised jointly by Textiles Committee and Handlooms Development Commissioner to create awareness about "Handloom Mark" among weavers, Shanmugham said that the scheme was introduced on June 28, 2006. The mark can be used for domestic as well as export handloom goods. Those weavers who have registered themselves under the scheme alone can use the mark.
Under the scheme, handloom weavers, handloom master weaver, handloom weavers society, Co-optex, handloom development societies, retail sellers can register.
Four types of Handloom marks are printed and sold to weavers. They are made of either handloom cloth or in the form of a card. They are priced at 20 paise, 35 paise, 60 paise and Re 1.25 paise depending upon the types.
Under the scheme till February 2011, Rs.1.91 crore worth of handloom marks have been sold throughout India. In Tamil Nadu Rs.85.20 lakh worth of handloom marks have been sold. In Karur region, Rs. 11.60 lakh worth of handloom marks have been sold.
Tamil Nadu is in the forefront in implementing this scheme. Mr. Shanmugham appealed to people to purchase handloom clothes after verifying whether they have these marks.
Pajji Radhakrishnan, President of Thanjavur Silk Handloom Textiles Producers Association said that Central Government has reduced import duty on silk yarn to five per cent from 30 per cent. He thanked the Government for the move as it would help their services.
A.V.Adhi, Secretary of the Association, S. U. Mohammed Yusuf, Assistant Director, Handlooms, Kumbakonam, M. Anbalagan, Cluster Development Officer, Co-optex, V. Nandakumar, Special Officer, Thanjavur Silk Weavers Co-operative Society, S. Raju, Quality control officer of Textiles Committee, participated in the meeting.
Keywords: Handloom mark, handloom weavers
