NE handloom artisans stand to gain as Govt. plans to put their census data online

If things go as planned, handloom artisans from the North East of India, who accounts for 65 percent of the total production of the country stands to gain hugely.

The Ministry of Commerce and Textile has joined hands to put the census data of 35 lakh workers online to give them an opportunity under the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for displaying g maximum number of handloom products so that artisans can avail l selling opportunities in government procurement.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a one-stop portal to facilitate online procurement of common use of Goods and Services required by various Government departments, organizations, and PSUs. GeM aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.

It provides the tools of e-bidding and reverses e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate government users in achieving the best value for their money.

Notably, a vast majority of handlooms are located in the North East region of India. In the terms of the proportion of handlooms, 65.2 percent of the total handlooms in the country are being operated in the northeastern states. Assam is the leading state accounting for nearly 46.8 percent of the aggregate number of handlooms in the country.

Other major states concerning the number of handlooms in the country are West Bengal (12.9 percent), Manipur (8.0 percent), Tamil Nadu (6.5 percent) and Tripura (5.8 percent).

“The textile ministry is planning free inclusion of all handloom workers in the GeM portal so that they can avail the maximum benefits of the government procurement,” a senior official said.

The process will also envisage connecting weavers and artisans with a greater clientele in both domestic as well as international markets, the official added.

The e-commerce initiatives will greatly emphasise is on the onboarding of handloom weavers and handicraft artisans on the GeM portal in large numbers. It will also make rules for government departments to purchase handloom products for their textile needs.

Assam also accounts for the highest handloom units in the country y with a 31 per cent share.

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