Minister for Industries, IT, Commerce, Handlooms and Textiles Gudivada Amarnath has said that there is very good recognition and demand for handlooms and silk textiles all over the country. Mega APCO showrooms will be opened in Visakhapatnam city to cash in on the demand, he said
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He was speaking at the State-level 8th National Handloom Day celebrations at the Zilla Parishad Hall here on Sunday.
He said that the celebrations were being organised in all the 26 districts in the State. After agriculture, the handloom sector was the largest employer in the country. There were about 1.5 lakh people in the State who were directly dependent on the handloom sector and another 50,000 were indirectly dependent on it for their livelihood, he said.
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During the last three years, ₹567.07 crore was spent on the development of handlooms under the ‘YSR Nethanna’ scheme in Andhra Pradesh. Pension was being given to weavers, who have completed 50 years of age. The target was to do a business of ₹100 crore through APCO. Mega APCO showrooms would be opened in Visakhapatnam to enable them compete with private textile showrooms, the Minister said.
MLC Varudhu Kalyani and Director of Handlooms and Textiles Nagarani spoke.
A.P. Padmasali Sangham Director Thammina Rama Lakshman, A.P. Padmasali Committee Chairman Tedlapu Venkateswarlu, A.P. Weavers Cooperative Director Pappu Raja Rao, Agriculture Committee Chairman Chikkala Rama Rao and A.P. Handlooms Additional Director Srikanth Prabhakar were among those who participated in the programme.