IMPLEMENTATION STRUCTURE AND RELEVANCY OF HANDLOOM SCHEMES
TO EMPOWER WEAVERS OF GUJARAT
Proposed to-
Directorate of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Government of Gujarat
Proposed by-
Adrik Ghosh and Ullas Srivastava
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
ABSTRACT
Handloom in India needs no separate introduction. Considered as one of the oldest exported goods from the peninsula, currently holds a major share in the global
market. When we speak of handloom we speak directly of Indian textiles, at least till before the 1900’s. With the introduction of spinning jenny and large-scale
textile mills in India handlooms saw a deduction of around 1/3rd of its production. Today it constitutes of only around 15% of total textile production in India. Since
independence, the government of India has designed several acts, schemes and policies to protect the handloom sector; But with center's growing inclination
towards mass production and capturing foreign market, the policies have started becoming compensatory in nature. Through the decades many activists and
stakeholders have criticized the efforts put by the government as heavily biased towards the powerloom sector.
In the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, the intense measures taken by the government to flatten the infection curve has led to a forecast of massive job cuts across
sectors. In these trying times, the labor intensive, handloom sector seems more relevant than ever.
The objective of this research is to try and understand the relevancy of the existing schemes and how well it fits in the local context. The study would try to throw
light on the components which restricts the scheme from reaching the maximum number of weavers. It is further meant to deconstruct the data from Handloom
Census of India 2019-20 and find out the reason for the anomalies.
The study would help in identifying the fractures in the present structure and pave way for better formulated policies which would be relevant to the state. We
intend to gain a holistic understanding of the relations between the various stakeholder in the system and the effectiveness of past incentives. The final and most
important aim of this project would be to facilitate a list of possible solutions for designing a more inclusive implementation structure for the weavers of Gujarat.
market. When we speak of handloom we speak directly of Indian textiles, at least till before the 1900’s. With the introduction of spinning jenny and large-scale
textile mills in India handlooms saw a deduction of around 1/3rd of its production. Today it constitutes of only around 15% of total textile production in India. Since
independence, the government of India has designed several acts, schemes and policies to protect the handloom sector; But with center's growing inclination
towards mass production and capturing foreign market, the policies have started becoming compensatory in nature. Through the decades many activists and
stakeholders have criticized the efforts put by the government as heavily biased towards the powerloom sector.
In the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, the intense measures taken by the government to flatten the infection curve has led to a forecast of massive job cuts across
sectors. In these trying times, the labor intensive, handloom sector seems more relevant than ever.
The objective of this research is to try and understand the relevancy of the existing schemes and how well it fits in the local context. The study would try to throw
light on the components which restricts the scheme from reaching the maximum number of weavers. It is further meant to deconstruct the data from Handloom
Census of India 2019-20 and find out the reason for the anomalies.
The study would help in identifying the fractures in the present structure and pave way for better formulated policies which would be relevant to the state. We
intend to gain a holistic understanding of the relations between the various stakeholder in the system and the effectiveness of past incentives. The final and most
important aim of this project would be to facilitate a list of possible solutions for designing a more inclusive implementation structure for the weavers of Gujarat.
(For full proposal refer to the attached link)
SYSTEM MAPPING OF POLICY IMPLIMENTATION STRUCTURE
*All data charted below are gathered through on-field interview and Central & State Institutions' reports and directive letters*
