The Weavers' Service Centre, under Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Union Ministry of Textiles today organised an Awareness programme regarding the importance of the handloom products among the various sections of people comprising students of the fashion and designing, textiles at Garment Park (Paridhan), Beliaghata, Kolkata in presence of Managing Director, Tantuja, Shri Rabindranath Roy, Director, Directorate of Textiles (Handloom), Government of West Bengal, eminent weaver of West Bengal and the Padma Shri recipient Shri Biren Basak, Deputy Director, Weavers' Service Centre, Shri Lakshman Chandra Basak, Shri Partha Das, Manager (Commercial)  & Regional In Charge, National Handloom Development Corporation Ltd and the like.

Various activities like dissemination of various schemes of handlooms of the Ministry of Textiles, quiz/drawing competition, live demonstration of handloom, small film on handloom products, presentation on IHB, Handloom Mark & E-commerce etc were carried out during the programme.

To commemorate the historical occasion of the launch of Swadeshi  Movement at Town Hall of Kolkata on August 7, 1905 and to celebrate our handloom tradition, the artisans and weavers of the handloom sector were honoured today in this august function, emphasising their outstanding craftsmanship.

Handloom Sector is a significant source of rural and semi-rural livelihood, engaging over 35 lakh persons. Of these, more than 25 lakhs are females. Thus, the sector is an important source of economic empowerment of women. The Ministry of Textiles has taken many initiatives for promotion of handloom sector across the country. The Prime Minister in his monthly radio programme 'Mann ki Baat' on July 28, 2024 spoke about the importance of handloom sector in boosting economy, particularly to the rural women. He also drew attention to new start up enterprises which are using modern technology to encourage handloom products and sustainable fashion. He urged citizens to popularise local handloom products and share them on social media with the hashtag #MyProductMyPride.