Handloom Industry in Uttar Pradesh: Major Challenges and Prospects

The handloom sector embodies the rich traditional, historical and cultural diversity that distinguishes India from the rest of the world. It has been sustained by transferring skills from one generation to another. This industry is one of the oldest industries in India and provided livelihood to millions of rural people across the country for centuries. However, it was reduced to ashes during the colonial rule by the entry of cheap and quality clothes made in the mills of England, but after independence, it started reviving due to the government interventions. Today, in the country, handloom production is the second largest employment-generating activity after agriculture and it contributes nearly 14% share of the total production of textile industry. But at the present time, this industry is facing multifarious problems that some other industries do not have. The government of India is consistently pursuing to bring about improvement in the productivity and marketing of handloom sector; still it can be seen that weavers are facing severe livelihood crisis. To make the industry profitable, the problems should be identified as well as the strength and weaknesses should be estimated. In this regard, the present article analyses the challenges and opportunities before the handloom industry, especially in the state of Uttar Pradesh and suggests for remedies to strengthen its position in the economy.