Textile Ministry to celebrate 7th National Handloom Day

• National Handloom Day is observed every year on August 7 in India to honour the handloom weaving community for their contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.
• The day is also observed to create awareness about the rich heritage of the Indian handloom industry amongst the public.
• First National Handloom Day was celebrated in 2015

Significance of Handloom in History:

• It is on this day in the year 1905 when Swadeshi Movement was launched in the country.
• Swadeshi Movement ignited the spirit of Swadeshi, which included handloom weavers as well.
• This is also a way to empower women as 70 per cent of weavers and allied workers in the Handloom sector are female.

Handloom Sector

• Handloom sector plays a very important role in the country’s economy.
• It is one of the largest economic activities providing direct employment to over 65 lakhs persons engaged in weaving and allied activities.
• The sector contributes nearly 19% of the total cloth produced in the country and also adds substantially to export earnings.
• Also, the sector has minimal power consumption and has the advantage of being less capital intensive.
• Handloom weaving is now getting popular because of its eco-friendly nature.