150
S
tate
of
I
ndia
’
s
L
ivelihoods
R
eport
2015
work of the craftsmen should be recognised
by the public at large. We need awareness
campaigns that make people think of the
nature of work that these craftsmen do and
also develop willingness to pay an appro-
priate price for artisanal products.
Handlooms
India has been a traditional power house in
hand weaving. Cotton, silk, wool, jute and
other fibres have been traditionally used in
handlooms. India is the only country to use
all varieties of silk—Mulberry, Tassar, Eri and
Muga varieties. In different parts of the coun-
try there are different weaving cultures that
have given rise to geographically identified
material. More than 4.3millionweavers were
engaged in the sector as per the Handloom
Census 2009–10.
2
The Census brought to
light the fact that North-eastern states have
more than 60 per cent of the weaver popula-
tion. Assam has more than 40 per cent of the
all India population of weavers. West Bengal
and Andhra Pradesh are the two other states
having a significant weaver population. Of
the 4.33 million weavers, 78 per cent are
women and 87 per cent rural (Table 7.8).
Most weavers attain weaving skills by work-
ing in the family occupation and hence a
significant proportion of them are not liter-
ate. Even those that are literate are not well
educated. 57 per cent of the households were
classified as Below Poverty Line. The census
reveals the erosion in traditional livelihoods
as the number of weavers and looms had
declined by about 34 per cent over a period
of 15 years. The reduced numbers seem to
have strengthened the livelihoods of those
who remain in the sector as seen from the
increased proportion of full time weavers and
reduction in idle looms.
The Annual Report of Ministry of
Textiles 2014–15 observes that adoption of
modern techniques and economic liberalisa-
tion, however, has had a serious impact on
the handloom sector. Competition from
power looms and mill sector, availability
of cheaper imported fabrics, changing con-
sumer preferences and alternative employ-
ment opportunities have threatened the
vibrancy of the handloom sector.
In the recent past there had been signifi-
cant improvements to raw material used as
also the designs to cater to niche markets
where good quality handloom products
fetch a premium price. Apart from quality
and design issues the competition from
power looms which were able to produce
a much better quality material at a lower
price and at the same time compete not just
with handlooms but also with mill-made
fabrics had come in the way of handloom
development. However, the burgeoning
power loom industry also led to significant
increase in employment opportunities and
that too at higher wage levels on account of
its requirement of semi-skilled labour. But
Table 7.8:
Highlights of handloom census 2009–10
Description
2009–10
Census
1995–96
Census
No. of weavers and allied workers (million)
4.33
6.55
No. of weavers households in NER (million)
1.51
1.45
No. of looms (million)
2.37
3.48
Women weavers (%)
77.9
60.6
Share of full-time weavers to total %
64
44
Proportion of households reporting more than 60% income from weaving (%)
35
31
Idle looms
4%
10%
Production of fabrics (million metres)
6930
3120
Source:
Handloom Census of India 2009–10.
2
Handloom Census of India 2009–10, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi.
