Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (Mgbby)

The basic objective of the ‘Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana’ is to provide enhanced insurance cover to the handloom weavers in the case of natural as well as accidental death and also higher sum assured.

ELIGIBILITY:

For availing of assistance under the scheme, the weaver should fulfill the following conditions:

  • The weaver should be earning at least 50% of his income from handloom weaving.
  • All weavers, whether male or female, between the age group of 18 and 59 years are eligible to be covered under the scheme.
  • Weavers being regular members of a Co-operative Society will be eligible to benefit from the scheme. While it is difficult to set a definite criterion of a regular member, ordinarily, a weaver would be considered to be a regular member if he has obtained the raw materials and supplied finished goods to the cooperatives for quantities worth his productivity of 180 days in a year. It will be up-to the Society to quantify 180 days productivity taking into each individual weaver’s skill, ability and performance in past years.
  • Weavers affiliated to State Handloom Development Corporations will also be eligible.

The scheme will be administered by the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

Claim Procedure of MGBBY

The beneficiary of the deceased person will have to follow the below-given procedure:

Step 1: The beneficiary will have to furnish the original death certificate of the deceased person to the nodal agency.

Step 2: The agency will proceed further to forward the documents along with the claim records/papers to LIC as the branch which has originally finalised the insurance cover.

Step 3: The Life Insurance Corporation will settle all the claims by sending account Payee Cheque directly to the beneficiary. This intimation has to be furnished to the concerned State Government and the Office of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms.

Step 4: In the event of an accident claim, the police inquiry report will also be required to be submitted.

Verification Process

The director in charge of Handlooms in the state will be taking care of the verification process of the weavers.

India Handmade Bazaar – Seller Registration

India Handmade Bazaar is an online portal, which is developed by the Ministry of Textiles for direct marketing of handicrafts and handloom products. This portal facilitates the weavers and artisans to provide information about their handloom products for easy understanding of exporters. Weavers and Artisans who have registered their mobile number with Development Commissioner for Handlooms or with any participating ministries can able to access this portal. In this article, we will look at the India Handmade Bazaar Seller Registration in detail.

Eligibility Criteria

The applicant will be eligible to apply for the India Handloom Brand registration if he/she falls in any of the following categories:

Genuine firms/institutions dealing with the production of handloom fabrics including the following:

  • Primary Handloom Cooperative Societies
  • Self Help Groups (SHG), Producers companies, Consortia, Joint Liability Groups (JLG)
  • Weaver Entrepreneurs
  • Producers of garments 

Note: The producer of garments should use the India Handloom branded fabrics and comply with the additional quality parameter regarding stitching, standard sizes as contained in the IS 12675 (1989) relating to the Guide to garment quality and other applicable BIS standards.

Eligible Products for Handloom Brand Registration

The following types of products are eligible for Handloom Brand Registration:

Handloom Products:

  • Saree – Cotton, Silk, Cotton Silk
  • Dress Material – Cotton, Silk, 
  • Fabric
  • Home furnishing
  • Stole/Scarf
  • Shawl/Chadar
  • Bed sheet
  • Dhoti

India Handmade Bazaar Seller Registration Procedure

The application procedure for Handloom Brand Registration is explained in detail below:

Step 1: You can apply for the registration by submitting a duly filled application form in duplicate in the prescribed format. 

Note: Even if your products already have Geographical Indications (GI), you can register for the India Handloom Brand. This will add further value to the product.

Step 2: You can pay the registration fees through Demand Draft or online transfer at the time of submission of the application. 

Submit Sample of Product

Step 3: The applicant needs to submit a sample of the product of 0.25 metres in length of the fabric in case of running material or yardage.

Note: In case a sample cannot be extracted from a whole product (like sari) you may submit a sample of the extra raw materials like yarns, dyes, and zari for testing along with a whole product sample.

Offline Payment of Registration Fee

Step 4: If you are submitting the application to the office of Weavers‟ Service Centre, you have to submit a Demand Draft drawn in favour of “Textiles Committee” payable at Mumbai. 

If you are submitting the application to an office of the Textiles Committee, submit the Demand Draft drawn in favour of the Textiles Committee payable at the name of the location of Regional Office of the Textiles Committee.

Online Payment of Registration Fee

Step 5: Online payment can be made through the “Online Payment” tab available in the Textiles Committee‟s website. If the applicant is making an online application, please make the payment of registration fee online for which the applicant will be provided with an auto-generated receipt.

On-Site Verification

Step 6: The concerned Regional Office of the Textiles Committee or Weavers‟ Service Centre will schedule a visit to the premises to ascertain the authenticity of the products besides social and environmental compliances. 

Step 7: The on-site verification process will be completed within 15 days from the date of receipt of your application.

Get Registration Number/Certificate

Step 8: If the application is accepted after scrutiny,  the applicant will get a registration number and a registration certificate of Handloom Brand Registration.

Get India Handloom Brand Logo

Step 9: On successful verification, the applicant will be provided with an India Handloom Brand logo in a Compact Disk from the Textiles Committee, Mumbai.

The applicant needs to procure labels from authorised label manufacturers empanelled by the Textiles Committee and mention the India Handloom Brand registration number on each label. Affix the label on your products so that customer can track the genuineness of label. In addition to this, a bar code will be given on each label.

Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS)

Yarn is the major raw material used by the handloom sector. Being dependent on yarn, manufacturers/traders and handloom weavers are facing shortage with escalating prices. The National Handloom Development Corporation Limited (NHDC) was set up to address the problems. The Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS) seeks to provide under-privileged handloom weavers with subsidized yarn and help them compete with the mill and power loom sectors.

Mill Gate Price Scheme

Mill Gate Price Scheme (MGPS) has been in effect since 1992 to make yarn available to handloom weavers by reimbursing transportation charges to depot operating agencies. Freight is reimbursed and depot operating charges at 2% is given to depot operating agencies. Funds for YSS are released to NHDC as per proposals initiated and utilization of previously released funds.

The Mill Gate Price Scheme (MGPS) has been continued along with a subsidy of 10% and modifications. This scheme is called the Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS) with a total outlay of Rs.433 crores. Mill Gate Price is the price at which the yarn is procured from registered license holders of Silk Exchange. Cotton hank yarn is obtained from the mills producing hank yarn under the Hank Yarn Packing Obligation as recorded by the Textile Commissioner. This helps remove monopoly and cartels. NHDC procures yarn in huge quantities and thus the MGP is lesser than that procured by wholesalers at the mill gate

10% subsidy under YSS

As handloom products are inherently expensive due to long lead time in weaving due to complex and exquisite designs, and lower productivity as compared to powerloom, it is essential to provide explicit subsidy on hank yarn. 10% subsidy is applicable on cotton yarn and domestic silk; subject to quantity caps. Now, wool for individual weavers and weavers’ cooperative societies is also subjected to 10% subsidy.

Eligibility for Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS)

  • All Handloom Development Centres
  • Handloom Organizations, including weavers’cooperative societies at the National/State/Regional/Primary levels
  • Handloom manufacturers registered with Export Promotion Council under the Ministry of Textiles or exporting directly
  • Individual Weaver entrepreneurs
  • Member of approved Handloom associations
  • Producers who are within the handloom clusters sanctioned under Mega Clusters or Integrated Handloom Textile Parks
  • Any other agency approved by the Office of the Development Commission (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles

These eligible agencies place their indents on NHDC. A tie-up between NHDC and suppliers is arrived at. A yarn-passbook is given to first-user agencies to avail the 10% subsidy. This can be applied for on the NHDC website. (https://www.nhdc.org.in/). All types of yarn are supplied such as polyester, acrylic, rayon, jute, blended yarn and zari. But all of them are not eligible for a 10% subsidy. The procedure of advance payment to precede indenting and supply of yarn (15 to 45 days) is waived for individual weavers and primary weavers’ societies. National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) has open distribution centres to introduce cash sales of yarns to them.

These eligible agencies place their indents on NHDC. A tie-up between NHDC and suppliers is arrived at. A yarn-passbook is given to first-user agencies to avail the 10% subsidy. This can be applied for on the NHDC website. (https://www.nhdc.org.in/). All types of yarn are supplied such as polyester, acrylic, rayon, jute, blended yarn and zari. But all of them are not eligible for a 10% subsidy. The procedure of advance payment to precede indenting and supply of yarn (15 to 45 days) is waived for individual weavers and primary weavers’ societies. National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) has open distribution centres to introduce cash sales of yarns to them.

India Handloom Brand

India Handloom Brand is a scheme that has been launched by the Prime Minister as a part of the first-ever India Handloom Brand in Chennai. The scheme endorses the quality of the products such as raw material, processing, embellishments, weaving design and other requirements to earn customer’s trust. Moreover, the scheme is aimed to generate a special market space and increase the income of the weavers.

Categories of Users

Given below is the list of category of users to participate in India handloom brand initiative.

  • Weavers
  • Master weavers
  • Primary co-operative societies
  • Apex handloom societies
  • Retailers
  • Exporters
  • Others

Other includes Self Help Groups (SHGs), consortia, producers companies, Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Handloom Weavers Groups (HWG) etc. that are identified under Integrated Handloom Development Scheme (IHDS) or any other legal entity/organisation that is involved in handloom related activities, approved to avail benefits under other schemes of Development Commissioner for Handlooms. Any other organisations willing to participate in the scheme has to be approved by the Development Commissioner for Handlooms.

Benefits of the Scheme

The logo imprinted on the product gives assurance of its quality to its customers. Premium branding enables the sourcing of quality fabrics and enhances sales and earnings through bulk marketing of quality products within and outside the country. Registered users of the India Handloom Brand would be assisted in design development, institutional finance and technical assistance as per the National Handloom Development Programme.

Application Fee

There is no requirement for an applicant to pay for the application since all the forms are available with the offices of the Textiles Committee and Weavers’ Service Centre.

Registration Fee

The registration fee for all applicants is Rs. 500. An application can be used for more than one item. The applicants have to pay an application registration fee while submitting the application form. Registration gets completed only after conducting on-site verification. Once registered, the application is valid for three years from the date of registration. The registered applicant is allowed to use the brand even after three years, depending on the track record of quality standards of the products. However, every registered product has to be renewed after three years from its date of registration.

Submission of the Application Form

An application form can be submitted through both online and offline procedures.

Offline Procedure

All duly completed application forms have to be submitted in duplicate along with the sample products. The duplicate copy has to be returned to the applicant after allotting the application number with the signature of the concerned officer.

Online Procedure

Applicants who wish to apply online has to login to the official website. The applicant can download the application form from this website. However, a copy of the application form along with the printout of the submission receipt and the product samples must be submitted to the concerned office. On submission of the application, the concerned Regional Office (RO) of the Textiles Committee of the Weavers’ Service Centre carries out the scrutiny of application wherever the application is filed.

The application has to be enclosed with the product samples for which India Handloom Brand requires physical and quality parameters of the products, including

  • Construction of the product, picks/inch, ends/inch etc.
  • Count of warp and weft yarns
  • Dimensions of the products
  • Fibre content, such as cotton, silk, wool, pashmina, etc.
  • Colour fastness to sunlight, washing and rubbing
  • Usage of natural and azo-free synthetic dyes
  • Type of zari and other embellishments
  • Other specifications of the product
  • Compliance with the law relating to child labour, conversion of environment and checking of pollution

For high-value products, detailed physical and quality parameters along with a sample of the leftover raw materials like yarn, dyes, zari etc. have to be enclosed for testing.

Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme

The Handloom weavers comprehensive welfare Scheme (HWCWS) is implemented by the Office of the Development Commissioner for handlooms to help the weavers to avail social security benefits.

Salient Features

  • Weavers in the age group of 18 to 50 will be covered under PMJJBY and PMSBY
  • Weavers in the age group of 51 to 59 who enrolled into MGBBY will be covered under Converged MGBBY.
  • Scholarship will be paid to the maximum of two children of the weavers. The children should study between 9th and 12th standard. The amount of scholarship is Rs.100 per month per child and will be paid through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP)

Components

There are two components in this scheme, and they are:

PMJJBY provides life insurance, and PMSBY provides accidental insurance for accidental death or disability. By converging all the insurance schemes into one scheme, the weavers in the age group of 18 to 50 will be covered for life, accident and disability under PMJJBY and PMSBY. The age group of 51 to 59 who were enrolled under MGBBY scheme will be covered under the Converged MGBBY scheme.

Procedure of Claim

In case of death or disability, the beneficiary has to approach the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). A separate claim form is available which is to be submitted to the Pension and Group Scheme (P&GS) unit of LIC. The total benefits under the schemes will be transferred by the LIC into their respective bank account of the beneficiary.

Scholarship

As an add-on benefit, scholarship to the maximum of two children of the beneficiary is provided under this scheme. The children should study between 9th and 12th standard. The amount of scholarship is Rs.100 per month for each child and will be paid through the National Scholarship Portal (NSP). The details of students have to be registered in the NSP portal. The school and nodal agency will verify the details. LIC will release the scholarship amount through DBT once in a year. The amount will be credited to the respective bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

Fund Release and Monitoring

For Converged Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (MGBBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), the Office of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms under Ministry of Textiles will release the amount to LIC on an annual basis depending upon the number of insured weavers.

For HIS coverage, Ministry of Textiles will release the state share to LIC accordingly.

Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS)

With Aim of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Zero Defect and Zero Effect’ in manufacturing, the government provides credit linked capital investment subsidy. This scheme would facilitate augmenting of investment, productivity, quality, employment, exports and import subsitution in textile industry. It will also indirectly promote investment in textile machinery manufacturing.

Eligibility

Only those entitites that fall under the following sectors are eligible to apply:

  • Weaving, Weaving Preparatory and Knitting
  • Processing of fibres, yarns, fabrics, garments and made up
  • Handloom Sector
  • Silk Sector
  • Jute Sector
  • Garmet/Made up manufacturing
  • Texhnical textiles

Registration Process

After installation of machinery the applicant will have to make an online application for joint inspection.

The documents required and process can be found out at: http://texmin.nic.in/schemes/technology-upgradation-fund-scheme