Mr. Balvinder Kumar, Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India inaugurated the Silk Fab exhibition, in the presence of the Guest of Honour, Mr. T.C. A. Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank).
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Balvinder Kumar said that the exhibition enables an interface between the weavers and consumers. Silk Fab exhibition is an initiative of the Development Commissioner of Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles Government of India through National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) to provide direct access to the handloom weavers to market the products to consumers in various cities of India.
The participants are from various State Government Bodies/ Apex Societies, Primarily Handloom Weavers Societies and Handloom Agencies. 150 agencies belonging to 15 states are participating. The exhibition has participation from two weavers who are recipients of National Award for design from the President of India.
The handloom sector of India employs 65 lac persons directly or indirectly which is next only to agricultural sector in the country. The art of handloom weaving has traditional values attached to it and each region has exquisite varieties.
The uniqueness of silk products such as Pochampalli, Paithani, Kanjivaram, Jamdani, Baluchari, and Ikkat, to name a few attracts customers across the globe with exclusives weaves, designs and traditional motifs. Through these exhibitions, handloom agencies not only market their products at reasonable rates but also get to know customers’ choice with regard to colour, design and weaving for future improvement of the product.
Government of India has launched the “Handloom Mark” scheme for handloom products, to encourage and give a distinct identity to the products, apart from highlighting the uniqueness of the products. It also serves a guarantee for the buyer that the product being purchased is genuinely hand-woven. All the exhibitors at the Silk Fab have been encouraged to display the “Handloom Mark” tag on the products and thus aim to improve the earnings of the handloom weaver community.
