HYDERABAD: The state government on Sunday announced waiver of bank loans of up to Rs 1 lakh taken by handloom weavers. Principal secretary of the Textile department, Shailaja Ramaiyer issued an order to this effect after Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy assured earlier in the day while addressing the All India Padmashali Mahasabha here that the government will extend financial assistance in the form of a waiver of bank loans of weavers.
The order said: “The government hereby accords in-principle approval for the loan waiver scheme with a total outlay of Rs 33 crore to the individual handloom weavers with a ceiling of Rs 1 lakh.”
The scheme will be applicable to the loans taken from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2024. The government will issue detailed guidelines of the scheme soon. The government, in its order, said that the scheme was announced to relieve individual handloom weavers of their debt burden and enable them to secure fresh working capital from banks.