Fifth National Handloom Day celebrates India’s textiles

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Aug 7, 2019

The fifth edition of National Handloom Day took place on August 7 and the Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani hosted the main event in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to celebrate the industry.

"Bhubaneswar has been chosen as the venue for the main event due to its rich tradition of handlooms,” read an official statement, as reported by the Press Trust of India.

“More than 50% of total weavers population of India resides in eastern and north eastern regions and most of them are women… The prime objective of holding the National Handloom Day in Bhubaneswar is to empower women and girls." 

As well as the main event in Bhubaneswar, National Handloom Day was celebrated across the country in Weavers' Service Centres. Activities that took place across India included the distribution of Pehchan Cards and Yarn Passbooks and the distribution of MUDRA loans under the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana to help small businesses develop. Other activities included the distribution of lighting units and certificates for the construction of work sheds.

The first-ever National Handloom Day was held by the government in 2015. The event aims to highlight the work of the handloom industry and its importance to India’s socio-economic growth.

The government has worked to promote the industry as part of its “Make in India” campaign and, with the aim of increasing domestic textile production and exports, has organised a number of events and schemes for the sector.