As the government was paying special attention to skill upgrade of weavers, loom upgrade, ensuring availability of good quality raw material and providing better access to credit of good handloom products. Arvind Kumar, Principal secretary (industries) said that the handloom and textiles department need to hold district-level meetings to ensure that more number of weavers are covered under Mudra Yojana.

Arvind Kumar held a meeting with director of handlooms & textiles Preeti Meena, Tesco managing director Sailaja Ramaiyyar and Punjab National Bank deputy general manager Rajiv Puri on Wednesday to review the status of loans being accessed by weavers under Mudra Yojana. Punjab National Bank is the nodal bank for implementation of Mudra Yojana in the state.

The bank would finance the weavers directly based on their track record. All payments to weavers should be routed through the bank accounts opened for the purpose, said Puri.

Puri urged for a memorandum of understanding to be entered into by Tesco/Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles and Punjab National Bank in this regard. Individual members not covered under the ambit of cooperative societies would be financed on case-by-case basis.

Arvind Kumar also held a meeting with officials of Life Insurance Corporation and discussed implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana in the state. A massive programme should be taken up in October to ensure that all the eligible weavers were covered under this scheme.

Explaining the salient features of the scheme, LIC officials said that any weaver who is earning at least 50 percent of his income from handloom weaving is eligible under this scheme. Weavers in the cooperative fold and outside cooperative fold are also eligible for insurance. Of the total premium of Rs 470, Centre’s contribution is Rs 290, LIC’s Rs 100 and weaver’s Rs 80.

All the eligible weavers, who were left out, should approach the district handloom officials immediately and get themselves enrolled under this scheme.