The minister felicitated the winners of Sant Kabir National Handloom Awards (2015) and also distributed MUDRA (Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency) loans to the weavers during the event.
Irani also announced to allot new buildings for six Common Facility Centres (CFCs) in Varanasi.
The Textile ministry also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for skills upgradation of handloom weavers through Weavers Service Centres (WSCs).
Leading fashion designers including Anita Dongre, Samant Chauhan, Sanjay Garg, Shruti Sancheti, Rina Dhaka, Tarun Tahiliani and Rajesh Pratap Singh also joined hands to promote the handloom industry.
Minister of State (Independent charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Uttar Pradesh Textile Minister Mehaboob Ali, MoS for Textiles Ajay Tamta, and Development Commissioner (Handlooms) Alok Kumar were also present at the event.