BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Thursday enhanced interest-free bank loan given to weavers to meet their working capital needs under the Bunakar Assistance for Livelihood And Income Augmentation (BALIA) scheme from the existing Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
The proposal of the Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts department to enhance the amount got Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s approval on the day. Under the scheme, weavers can avail working capital as per their requirements to the maximum limit of Rs 1 lakh from a bank at zero interest.
The scheme, which is being implemented in both urban and rural areas, was launched by the chief minister in 2021. It aims at plugging the current gap faced by weavers and ancillary workers by providing them adequate and timely assistance from banking institutions to meet their credit requirement for working capital in a flexible manner.
As per Handloom Census 2019-20, there are 66,141 weavers’ households having 1,24,084 workforce with 56,569 looms in the state. The decision to increase the loan amount was taken in the wake of rise in the cost of raw materials.