New Delhi [India], February 9 (ANI): The Ministry of Textiles has taken steps to onboard weavers and artisans on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to enable them to sell their products directly to various government departments and organizations, the Union Minister of State for Textiles Darshana Jardosh said on Wednesday.

Further, Jardosh, in a written reply to Lok Sabha said that about 1.50 lakh handloom agencies, weavers and 26,644 artisans have already been on-boarded on the portal.

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She also told the House that to promote procurement of handloom products, an amendment was introduced in Rule 153 of GFR 2017 on February 17 in 2020, wherein it was mandated that "Of all items of textiles required by the central government departments, it shall be mandatory to make procurement of at least 20 per cent from amongst items of handloom origin, for exclusive purchase from KVIC and handloom clusters such as Cooperative Societies, Self Help Groups (SHG), Federations, Joint Liability Groups (JLG) Producer Companies (PC), Corporations etc. including weavers having Pehchan Cards.

"Ministry of Textiles is implementing the cluster development programme, a component of the National Handloom Development Programme. Under the scheme, need-based financial assistance is provided for the implementation of various interventions like solar-powered lighting units, upgraded looms and accessories, worksheds, design and product development, marketing support etc," the minister added. (ANI)

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