Why was the All India Handloom Board dissolved?

Singh writes: “It is in line with their vision of a leaner government machinery and the need for systematic rationalisation of government bodies. The various bodies and organisations under the Ministry are accordingly being examined and being retained or abolished based on their functional necessity. As a part of this ongoing exercise, the government abolished the All India Handloom Board on July 27, 2020.”

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The All India Handloom Board was first constituted in the year 1992, and was reconstituted thereafter from time to time. It was last constituted in February 2016. Singh says that the decision to disband the board follows an assessment that it failed to impact policy making and became vehicle of unnecessary patronage with the emergence of a middleman culture that did not help the interests of weavers.

While the meetings of the Board have been few and far in between, the Ministry says that the Weaver Service Centres, State Handloom bodies and organisations have been instrumental in promoting Handloom thorough their initiatives and implementation of government policies. It adds that consultation with stakeholders – industry, e-commerce portals, designers, handloom entrepreneurs and organisations, and state bodies – takes place at various points of time through structured meetings held by Ministry of Textiles. “In the above backdrop, the All India Handloom Board had become redundant, and with a view to rationalise the structure of Handlooms, it was abolished,” says Singh.

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