Textiles ministry weighs revamp of handloom weavers' insurance scheme amid low enrolment
New Delhi: The textiles ministry plans to overhaul the insurance component in its flagship weavers' welfare programme, Handloom Weavers' Comprehensive Welfare Scheme, after enrolment fell
New Delhi: The textiles ministry plans to overhaul the insurance component in its flagship weavers' welfare programme, Handloom Weavers' Comprehensive Welfare Scheme, after enrolment fell far short of the target, according to two people familiar with the matter. Only 2.02 lakh handloom weavers and workers signed up for coverage under two government insurance schemes—Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)—in the 2025-26 policy year, against a target of 4.69 lakh, leaving more than half of intended beneficiaries uncovered. The shortfall comes even as the Centre boosted insurance funding more than fivefold to ₹335 lakh from ₹60.01 lakh a year ago. The ministry is now looking at ways to increase enrolment, expand coverage and tighten implementation through state governments as part of a broader review of the Handloom Weavers' Comprehensive Welfare Scheme, the people said.
The relatively low insurance coverage is primarily due to the fragmented and largely unorganised nature of the handloom sector. A significant number of weavers operate outside formal institutional networks, making it difficult for state governments to identify and enrol all eligible beneficiaries. “The dependence on states for beneficiary identification and enrolment, coupled with limited awareness and annual renewals under the insurance schemes, has affected participation,” one of the people said. Queries emailed to the textiles ministry remained unanswered till press time. Limited awareness Industry experts attributed the low enrolment primarily to limited awareness among handloom weavers about the insurance schemes and their benefits. "The biggest challenge is not the availability of the insurance scheme but the lack of awareness. Most outreach efforts are limited to traditional weaver clusters that are already linked with government programmes,” said Dr Babita Biswas, founder-chairperson, BRIATOSHS, which works with crochet weavers.
Sustained rural awareness drives are needed to reach new and emerging weavers, without which enrolment will stay below potential, she added. India has 26.74 lakh handloom weavers, with the sector heavily concentrated in a handful of states, according to the Fourth All India Handloom Census (2019-20), which is the most recent data available. Assam has the largest handloom workforce with 11.07 lakh weavers, accounting for more than two-fifths of the country's total, followed by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Manipur. The 2025-26 enrolment figures also show sharp disparities across states. Assam recorded the highest enrolment under PMJJBY and PMSBY with 97,451 weavers and workers, followed by Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Manipur, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir. By contrast, several states with sizeable handloom populations—including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh reported little or no enrolment during the year.
The BriefWire