An initiative of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative Ltd. (IL&FS CDI) that has been set to provide commercially sustainable and integrated solutions for development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), through a cluster based and Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach that would enable them to have a global presence felt and become ambitious.

Artisans from the 9 handloom clusters  have been chaperoned under an umbrella organization under Integrated Handloom Development Scheme {Scheme of Development Commissioner (Handlooms) Government of India} benefitting marketing and branding of Fine tussar silks, exquisite linen blends, mind boggling range of cotton fabrics for different end uses, the renowned Bhagalpuri silks, and varied  textures and weave patterns.

All this is a part of the vast repertoire of offerings from Bihar. Yet there’s a lot more that remains unexplored of the state's traditional textile offerings.

Embark on the journey of discovering the different realms of textiles of Bihar. Unfolding layer after layer of the different hues of what the state offers.

Handloom weavers of Bihar have fashioned their offerings based on the resources available locally. Bhagalpur and Katoria were bestowed with a vast forest cover and thus gave them an opportunity to cultivate tussar silkworms. The hamlet of weavers developed immense skills in tussar silk spinning, especially thigh and hand reeling to give those unique and extraordinary low-twist tussar silk yarns. Further, these yarns helped create the exclusive and distinctive tussar silk fabrics of such texture that these cannot be created anywhere else in the world! The weavers of Gaya and Nalanda were also benefitted by the similar conditions prevailing in their region, which helped them to come up with tussar silk products.

Madhubani weavers took advantage of the humid conditions prevailing because of the proximity to the Kosi River. Moreover  being under the slopes of the hill ranges of Nepal, helped them acuminate their cotton spinning skills to a great extent that hand spun - hand woven cotton 'mulmuls' of Madhubani became as renowned as the paintings of the region. Alas! Only a handful of exponents of those fine skills now remain in the region. The cotton fabrics are still very much in demand by the true lovers of excellent cotton. Weavers near the traditional and the cultural capital of the state, Patna, (the present state capital) never lagged behind in the pursuit of fine exposition of their skills. They came up with exceptional dress materials as well as furnishing materials, whose designs have not stagnated but they have emerged with times.

The most astounding part of the products range of Bihar’s handlooms is their ability with which they convert elucidated designs and textures using improvised tools on the traditional pit/ frame looms. One can well imagine the opportunities that get thrown up once the package of support from DC Handlooms office and more so from the state government’s initiatives flourish. While the implementation of the Integrated Handloom Development Scheme (IHDS) is going to support a wide range of interventions over a period of three years in as many as 13 clusters of the state. The state government has highly ambitious plans for the industry like interventions for technology up-gradation, market & credit facilitation, support for dyeing-packaging-processing centers, establishing Handloom Parks to provide world class facilities to the traditional weavers of the state and even help them organize into coherent and effective vehicles of change.