The Report of the Third National Handloom Census 2009-10 was released by Smt. Panabaaka Lakshmi, the Minister of State for Textiles. Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) was used, for the first time, to interview 27.8 lakh handloom workers households in connection with this Census. The Minister also gave away the first series of Photo Identity Cards to handloom weavers, assembled from various States, viz., Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West Bengal, U.P., Haryana etc. during the function organized to release the Report.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt Lakshmi said, “Handloom Census is the second largest National Census next to Pzopulation Census. The Census report provides comprehensive information about handloom sector. It also provides opportunity to compare with Second Census Report.”
The Minister further added that issuance of Photo Identity Cards to handloom weavers will provide new data and information enabling the Government for targeted policy intervention and also Gender Budgeting for special component plan for women. She said that the weavers would get, for the first time, an identity of themselves which will ensure that only genuine weavers get the benefits of the schemes implemented for them.
The major highlights of the Survey, as presented during the Release Function, are as under:-
• Handloom households as per the third handloom census is 27.8 lakh – The majority (82%) are weaver households, nearly 14 per cent are allied worker households, 3 per cent are idle loom households and remaining are handloom household units having no adult handloom workers.
• Handloom work is primarily a rural occupation – 87 per cent of the handloom households are located in rural areas and remaining 13 per cent in urban areas.
• There are 43.31 lakh handloom workers – 36.33 lakh workers stay in rural areas and 6.98 lakh workers stay in urban areas. There are 38.46 lakh adult (aged 18 years and above) handloom workers.
• Increase in full-time workers from 44 per cent of the adult handloom workforce as per second census to 64% as per the third census..
• Increase in days of work per weaver household – the number of days worked by weaver households has increased from the second( 197 person days) to the third (234 person days) census.
• Total of 23.77 lakh handlooms – Across household and non-household handloom units.
• Most looms are frame looms – 58 per cent are frame looms, 26 per cent are pit looms, 13 per cent are loin looms, 1 per cent is pedal looms and 2 per cent are other kinds of looms.
Smt Rita Menon, Secretary (Textiles) said on the occasion that the Office of the Handloom Development Commissioner has taken this stupendous task of enumeration of handloom households across the country. She also commended the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and AG Nielson for using the new techniques of Personal Digital Assistance (PDA) to cover entirehouseholds and coming out with a set of data and information about handloom weavers which would facilitate formulation of targeted policies for them during the forthcoming XII Five Year Plan.
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