National Handloom Day 2025: Celebrating India’s Artisan Legacy

India’s rich history of handmade craft and art is not only a matter of national pride, but also a cause for celebration that highlights creativity, resilience and skills of our artisans. Every year, the National Handloom Day is celebrated on 7th of August to honour India’s rich weaving culture and acknowledge their contribution to empowerment of women, socio-economic growth and national development. 

While the first official Handloom Day was inaugurated on 7th August, 2015 in Chennai by PM Narendar Modi, the significance of this day goes back over a century. It was on 7th August, 1905 that the first call for Swadeshi Movement was made as a part of India’s struggle for Independence. The movement rightfully recognized the role handloom weavers had in building an economy rooted in self-reliance and indigenous production. 

The Role of Handloom Sector in Preserving our Rich Heritage

The handloom sector is a vibrant representation of India’s diverse cultural heritage and employs around 3.5 million people. The sector represents a wide regional diversity, ranging from Jammu & Kashmir’s Pashmina Shawls to Kerala’s Kasaragod Sarees and Jodhpur’s Bandhej. 

To enhance the recognition of these regional masterpieces, boost marketability and increase their economic value, the government awards Geographical Indication (GI) tags to these products. GI tags are given to products with a specific geographic origin and distinct qualities to protect them from unauthorized use or imitation and help in identification of authentic goods. 

Women in the Handloom Sector

The handloom sector employs around 2.5 million female weavers, which forms almost 75% of the total workforce in the sector. Women in rural areas often rely on their weaving skills and techniques as a source of their livelihood and empowerment. As custodians of generational knowledge of indigenous handloom practices, women play a crucial role in establishing their own weaving enterprises and cooperatives. This involvement not only enhances their decision-making in their household, but also the community, making them important drivers of change. 

Major Interventions by the Government 

• The Block Level Cluster scheme aims at integrated and holistic development of handloom pockets through skill up-gradation, Hathkharga Samvardhan Sahayata (HSS), construction of individual work sheds, design and product development, creation of Common Facility Centres, etc. The government also provides assistance to the tune of INR 2 crores per cluster. 

• Through GeM Onboarding, weavers, co-operative societies and handloom agencies can directly sell their products to government departments.

• Weavers’ Service Centres have been established across the country to help in skill up-gradation, capacity building and disseminating the technological interventions for better productivity of weavers. These Centers also work with National Centre for Textile Designs (NCTD) to promote traditional and contemporary designs and make the sector more responsive to changing market demand. The government has also established Design Resource Centres (DRCs) in WSCs to build and create design-oriented excellence in the sector. 

• To increase financial accessibility to weavers, the MUDRA scheme allows weavers to get loans at concessional interest rates. The Online Handloom Weavers MUDRA portal helps weavers get Direct Benefit Transfer of margin money and invest in their business.  

• The government also runs various Weavers’ Welfare Scheme such as Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS) that provide accidental and disability insurance coverage to handloom weavers. The Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS) supply of yarn at subsidized rates and to help handloom weavers compete with power-looms in pricing.

• The Bunkar Mitra is a single point of contact to handloom weavers across the country for addressing queries and providing guidance. 

The celebration of National Handloom Day showcases the richness, resilience and relevance of India’s handloom heritage while recognizing the talent and craftsmanship of our weavers. Outstanding weavers are honoured with the Sant Kabir Awards and National Handloom Awards for their exceptional contributions.

The craftsmanship and legacy of the Indian weavers continue to inspire future generations and uphold the rich heritage of Indian handlooms.