Hyderabad: Textiles Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Thursday directed the officials to ensure the orders for clothes needed for the upcoming year should be taken from all government departments and corporations in the month of September itself.

The distribution of clothes to the government departments that have already given orders should be completed expeditiously. Similarly, work orders for the production of clothes from Tesco to the associations should be provided immediately and steps should be taken to ensure that the production of clothes was done on time. The Minister on Thursday conducted a review with officials of the Handloom Textiles Department on the performance of the schemes being implemented by the government for the welfare of handloom workers. The Minister said that the work should be provided to the weavers throughout the year. The production of Mahila Shakti sarees provided to women by self-help groups should be accelerated. Special officers should be appointed to supervise the production to complete it quickly.

The Textiles Department Principal Secretary Shailaja Ramayyar, while explaining to the Minister about the implementation of various schemes being implemented in the Textiles Department, said, “So far, 33,913 handloom workers have registered under the Telangana Netanna Savings Scheme. Under this scheme, if the handloom workers deposit 8 per cent of their wages in banks, the government will deposit 16 per cent in RD-11 accounts. As part of the safety of weavers, an insurance of Rs 5 lakhs has been provided to the nominees of workers who have died due to accidents or natural causes, regardless of age, and Rs 9.70 crore have been provided to the nominees of 194 handloom workers who have died since August 14, 2024 and their families have been supported by the government. The state government has allocated Rs 48.8 crore as part of the Telangana Netanna Insurance Scheme.

The registration process of weavers will continue, and once the registration is complete, under this scheme, Rs 18,000 per year will be provided to the weavers working on geo-tagged looms. The government has released Rs 33 crore for personal loan waiver of weavers, and 5691 weavers across the state will benefit from this scheme, and the verification process will be completed soon and the funds will be released, he explained to the minister.

The Minister said that appropriate steps should be taken to improve the performance of TESCO showrooms and lead them to profitability, and Tesco showrooms that were in loss should be merged with showrooms that were in profit. Similarly, steps should be taken to properly utilize human resources in the Telangana Handicrafts Organization and ensure that the organization runs on a path of development.

Gajam Narmada and Guda Pawan from Puttapaka village, Narayanapuram mandal, Yadadri district, Sansthan, who were selected for the National Handloom Award-2024 announced by the Union Ministry of Handlooms and Textiles, were honored with shawls by the Minister.