SOIL Report 2008 - ACCESS Development Services

Chapter IIIinterest subvention – working capital; and (iv) contribution to the Handloom Development and EquityFund and Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for handloom weavers. On the basis of this report and theVaidyanathan Committee report, a Rs 1,200-crore package for handlooms has been formulated.For schemesto beeffective,strengtheningof thedeliverymechanismwith the helpof an NGO/voluntarysector isessential.For schemes to be effective, strengthening of the delivery mechanism with the help of an NGO/voluntary sector is essential. All the schemes will be widely publicised in local and regional languages. Aconvergence between various schemes for health, nutrition, education, etc., will be ensured. A necessarystep in this direction would be a mapping of weavers and artisans.Handicrafts: Like handlooms, this sector also touches upon the lives of the most marginalised and has thepotential to transform the economy of difficult areas such as the North-East, border states, J&K, deserthabitations etc. During the 11th Plan, it is proposed to more than double the production of handicraftsso as to create almost 11 lakh additional jobs. In order to augment the government resources, schemeswill be adopted in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, which will involve NGOs. The 11th Planschemes for handicrafts are indicated below:66Programmaticinterventionsfocus onresearch andtechnologyupgradation,promotion ofvalue-addedtextiles,strengtheningof existinginfrastructurefacilities,creationof designbanks andComputerAided Design(CAD)centres, andeasy access tocredit and amodernisedwork-shedscheme.• Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Yojana: Revised to a demand-driven, needs-based scheme forintegrated development of handicraft clusters. Setting up of CFCs and e-kiosks, publicity, toolkitdistribution will be included. Target: 375 new clusters in 322 districts covering four lakh artisans.• Design and Technology Upgradation: Thrust on skill upgradation, new designs, technologies,innovative products, revival of languishing crafts, setting up of a Design Bank to benefit 38,600artisans.• Marketing Support, Services, and Export Promotion: This scheme will continue and cover 1.2lakh artisans.• R&D Scheme: Conducting research studies, all-India census for handicrafts, setting up of six labs,technology development, transfer/adoption of technology.• Handicraft Artisans Comprehensive Welfare Scheme: The scheme includes Bima Yojana andRajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana. Target: Two lakh artisans per year for each scheme.• Human Resource Development: Special Handicraft Training Programme (SHTP) implementedduring the 10th Plan has been modified. Target: Capacity building of two lakh artisans andstakeholders.• Infrastructure Projects for development of specific need-based infrastructure, building haats,expo marts, etc.Power looms: Today, the decentralised power-looms sector provides employment to 48.6 lakh personsand contributes 62 per cent of the total cloth production in the country. Policy interventions are aimedat dealing with issues such as yarn availability and pricing and resolving the perceived ‘conflict’ betweenhandlooms and power-looms. Programmatic interventions focus on research and technology upgradation,promotion of value-added textiles, strengthening of existing infrastructure facilities, creation of designbanks and Computer Aided Design (CAD) centres, and easy access to credit and a modernised work-shedscheme. Weavers will be organised into SHGs and be encouraged to move their looms into commonwork-sheds. During the Plan period, cluster development activities will be undertaken in 50 power loomclusters. Health insurance schemes that have been announced for below poverty line (BPL) workerswould be made available to the power-loom workers and their families.Unorganised wool sector: The wool sector plays an important role in linking the rural economy andshepherds with the small, medium, and large-scale manufacturing units. India is the seventh largestproducer of raw wool accounting for 1.8 per cent of the world production. In 2003, it had about 4.266