Beginning tomorrow, from April 1, free electricity will be provided to handloom and powerloom units in Andhra Pradesh. The free electricity scheme is set to benefit lakhs of handloom artisans in the State. Under the scheme, 200 units of free electricity per month for handlooms and 500 units per month for powerlooms will be provided.
The government has decided to alleviate the burden of electricity charges and to provide stronger support to the handloom sector.
With the implementation of the free electricity scheme, approximately 93,000 families operating handlooms and 11,488 families operating powerlooms across the State are set to benefit directly. To facilitate this, the government will incur an annual expenditure of approximately Rs 150 crore. Through this subsidy, each handloom weaver’s family will receive financial relief of up to Rs. 8,640 per year, while powerloom units will receive financial relief of up to Rs. 21,600 per year. At a time when electricity has become an unavoidable expense in the weaving profession, the support being extended by the government for activities such as loom maintenance, weaving, and dyeing is set to serve as a backbone for the weavers.
To rescue the handloom sector, the coalition government initiated several reforms. As part of these efforts, it increased the pension provided to weavers to Rs. 4,000. It allocated Rs. 5 crore in Thrift Fund resources to handloom cooperative societies.
Furthermore, it is providing a subsidy of up to 90 per cent on the purchase of modern machinery. In addition to offering a 15 per cent subsidy on raw material, the government is taking measures to ensure the supply of high-quality yarn. The government has sanctioned funds amounting to Rs. 10.44 crore for the development of small clusters. Alongside these initiatives, to facilitate marketing, it is creating opportunities for weavers to sell their products directly to consumers through platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu