India : Planning Commission member raises plight of silk weavers - Textile News India

According to a member of the Planning Commission, which is an apex body of the Government of India and formulates the five year plans, there is a need to waive off or reduce customs duty on imports of silk yarn from China. Ms Syeda Hameed who was on a two day visit to Varanasi, which is famous for its silk industry, was particularly appalled, where she met the poor silk weavers. According to her the duty on Chinese silk fabric is higher than Chinese silk yarn. She sternly said that the Banarasi silk industry was dependent on Chinese silk rather than silk yarn from Karnataka and promised to raise the issue with the Planning Commission as well as the government of India. She also promised to bring to light the loop holes in the schemes launched by the Central Government for the development of handloom and handicraft, since these loopholes prevented these weavers from being benefited from the various schemes.