Pune-based author and speaker Shefali Vaidya, also famous on social media for her collection and knowledge of Indian textiles and sarees has been appointed as a member in a specially constituted committee formed by the Ministry of Textiles.
The Ministry led by Piyush Goyal had announced an initiative on the National Handloom Day for doubling the production and quadrupling the exports of handlooms in a span of three years.
https://twitter.com/ShefVaidya/status/1428660093348814855?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwSpeaking to OpIndia, Shefali Vaidya said, “Handwoven textiles are the original #MakeInIndia product. Even today, the handloom sector employs the second-largest no of people in India after the agriculture sector.”
“Handwoven textiles have been my passion for a long time, and I have been working in my own way to help weavers and popularise handloom. I am grateful to the government of India, Ministry of Textiles and Piyush Goyalji for giving me the chance to make a greater difference,” she added speaking on her appointment.
The letter dated August 19 lists other members of the committee, detailing their roles and responsibilities. The committee has been asked to recommend ways to partner and collaborate with handloom weavers, buying houses, institutions and exporters.
The committee will also be working towards improving the marketing of handloom products in the domestic market apart from suggesting strategies to improve the quality of handloom products.
In addition to this, a number of initiatives have been rolled out by the Ministry to boost, improve and promote the enormous handloom industry of India.