The Government of Assam will procure unsold stocks of traditional handloom items from indigenous weavers in the state through ARTFED and AGMC Limited to provide relief to handloom weavers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

For this purpose, the state government will implement the ‘Swanirbhar Naari’ scheme.

Approximately 1.23 lakh weavers who have yarn passbooks under the yarn passbook scheme will be covered in the first phase.

In a meeting today at Janata Bhawan, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reviewed the scheme’s implementation and directed officials to ensure that no middlemen profit from the initiative.

Furthermore, Sarma directed the department to open the weavers’ registration portal and open procurement centres in each development block to cover the maximum number of weavers during the next fiscal year to ensure a smooth implementation of the scheme.

The Chief Minister was informed by officials from the Handloom & Textiles Department that 29 handloom items had been identified, including gamosa, aronai, Karbi poho, Manipuri khudei, Rabha pazar, Dimasa risa basa, Mising dumer, and muffler.

For the financial year 2021-22, the state government has set aside Rs 80 crores under SOPD-ODS for this initiative.

Benchmarking was carried out based on the type of yarn used, as well as the size, weight, and design of the products, according to the officials.

The items will be sold through ARTFED and AGMC’s existing showrooms, as well as existing online marketing platforms. Furthermore, based on the concentration of weavers in Assam, 87 procurement centres have been identified.

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