Despite the ongoing slowdown in the textile sector, the National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) is eyeing a turnover of Rs 825 crore in the current fiscal.
“In 2007-08, we had a turnover of Rs 600 crore and this year also, we are registering robust growth of almost 40 per cent,” Managing Director JK Baweja told Business Standard.
NHDC provides subsidised raw material and other logistics support to unorganised artisans and weavers in the country to protect them from middlemen and suppliers.
The corporation works in close coordination with the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) for helping the export-oriented handloom units. The raw material support includes wool, cotton, rayon, cotton, silk, dyes and chemicals.
“The subsidy to the state government-registered weavers’ societies is almost 3.5 per cent,” Baweja said.
Meanwhile, the corporation is not planning to set up any new marketing complexes in the country, due to lack of plan outlay and costly real estate.
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Such complexes are present in Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kanpur, Hyderabad and Jaipur.
The complex planned in Lucknow could not be constructed due to scarce resource.
NHDC was set up by the Centre in 1983 as an autonomous body under the Companies Act 1956, for speedy development of the handloom sector by coordinating procurement and supply of inputs at reasonable prices, augmenting marketing efforts and improving productivity.
The handloom sector currently employs 35 million people, directly and indirectly, in the country and is the largest provider of employment after agriculture.
Earlier, Baweja inaugurated WoolFab Expo 2008, organised under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Textiles.
The corporation regularly organises WoolFab and SilkFab expos in various metropolitan cities for providing marketing support to the handloom sector.
“We provide the infrastructure, financial and publicity support to the artisans and handloom weavers through these events,” he added.