An Assessment of Government Initiatives for the Promotion and Development of Handloom Startups in Western Vidarbha (during 2015– 2020)

Abstract

In India, this handloom industry is a traditional handicraft enterprise that has been important in providing employment, maintaining indigenous skills and techniques, boosting the livelihoods of rural people, and creating imagination and identity. Different handloom activities in the regions like Western Vidarbha have helped in providing livelihood along with income opportunity to the artisans and small entrepreneurs mostly in the rural and semi-urban areas. The Government of India and Government of Maharashtra have taken and implemented various steps to enhance access to finance, technology, skill development, marketing support, infrastructure and entrepreneurial support to handloom growers and new genesis over the last five years (2015-2020). The present study examines the role and performance of these Government policies to promote and support handloom start-ups in Western Vidarbha. The study highlights the level of support given by Government schemes for establishment, modernization, expansion and market development of Handloom units. It also analyzes key obstacles entrepreneurs must overcome to access the institutional support, including both lack of knowledge and the lack of procedural support, insufficient financial support, lack of access to markets, technology limitations and lack of institutional coordination. The study is descriptive type analytical with the technique used secondary data and descriptive analysis with the concept of data field. The results are likely to help develop a precise understanding of the role played by the government interventions in the handloom entrepreneurship development and highlight the dimensions that will need more policy inputs. The study could help in planning future policies and support based on the experiences gained for policymakers, handloom development agencies, financial institutions, and handloom organizations to make it easier and more region-specific to develop more sustainable handloom production in Western Vidarbha.