Warangal: 'Pehchan' to the rescue of weavers

Warangal: In a bid to give a big push for the traditional weavers, the Centre has initiated Government e-Marketplace (GeM). Under the initiative, the Textile Ministry is looking to connect around 50 lakh weavers with the public procurement portal – GeM in association with the National Informatics Centre. This is to ensure a platform which can help commercialise the potential of the weavers and there can be a direct sale to the people. To make this happen, the Weavers Service Centre is gathering the information of the weavers in the district so as to issue 'Pehchan' identity cards. The ID will be linked with the Aadhaar numbers and bank accounts so that they can receive direct cash-transfer benefits.

The authorities to issue Pehchan ID cards to the weavers based on a geo-tagging survey conducted by the Karvy Data Management Services Limited in 2018. After incorporating the details of the weavers with the national data, the Pehchan card holders will receive all the benefits extended by the Centre directly. It may be mentioned here that a central database will be created with the demographic and biometric details of Pehchan cardholders and their families. All the weavers enrolled with the ministry will be issued with two magnetic cards, one for the insured persons and the other for family members. The cardholders can not only avail the healthcare in any ESI Hospital or dispensary across the country but can also avail easy loans at 4 per cent interest rate.

The cardholders can also get the benefit of life insurance and Rs 1,200 per year for their children studying between Class IX and Class XII. In all, there are nearly 4,000 geo- tagged weavers in erstwhile Warangal district. More than half of it are located in Warangal Urban district.