Guwahati: The government of Assam opts to purchase handloom items directly from indigenous weavers. At a programme here, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the “Swanirbhar Naari”, an initiative of the Handloom & Textiles Department, to empower the indigenous weavers of the state and to provide financial support to the weavers’ families.

Under the initiative, the government has opted to purchase handloom products directly from indigenous weavers without the involvement of any middlemen using a specially created Swanirbhar Naari online platform. The initiative will be executed with the assistance of ARTFED and AGMC and will be administered by the Director, Handloom Textiles, Assam.

The scheme covers a total of 31 hand-woven products from diverse areas around the state.

After procurement, products will be sold through formal channels of ARTFED’s outlet Jagaran and AGMC’s outlet Pragjyotika in Assam and in other states of the country.

 The online registration is designed in a way to reach those areas also, where departmental yarn banks are not available. It is expected that the portal will bridge the gap between the weavers and the buyers.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma said that the handloom & textile sector of Assam has a rich history and it has been playing an important role in the state economy. He said that Assam’s handloom & textiles sector reflects the state’s civilization and cultural heritage and the textiles of different ethnic groups have enriched this, he observed. 

Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a distinguished identity to Assamese gamosa across the country, the Chief Minister said that this has immensely popularized gamosa in India today. Taking advantage of such a favourable environment, he urged the Handloom & Textiles department to generate more awareness about Assamese gamosa in the country, which is a unique handloom product of the state. He also called upon the organizations and people of the state to procure gamosa that are produced in handlooms only.