Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets audience in Tamil Nadu

“On October 2 last year, I had asked the people to use one item of khaadi products to brighten up the lives of artisans”.

Modi said film industry plays a major part in popularizing fashion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Chennai today to mark the celebrations of the first National Handloom Day, where he also presented the Sant Kabir Awards and National Awards.

He said that, with the world becoming progressively more aware about the environment and holistic healthcare, there was a need to highlight the eco-friendly aspects of handloom products. He said a similar effort now has to be made for handloom products.

The Handloom Day will be celebrated all over the country in cooperation with the state governments.

It was on this day in 1905 that the boycott of British products began during India’s freedom struggle.

PM Modi says there is lack of awareness about rich tradition of Indian handloom products across the globe.

Over 43 lakh people are engaged in handloom weaving and allied activities in India. This industry is a source of livelihood to large section of rural population particularly women, and below poverty line (BPL) families. If this use be increased by five per cent, then the handloom sector will grow by 33 per cent.

Innovative design backed by good marketing is essential for promotion of hand looms.

According to him, pre-weaving stage should be mechanised to reduce the manual labour put in by the weaver. She also sought support for inter-linking of rivers worth Rs 7,528 crore.

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalithaa Friday reiterated her call to the Government of India to retrieve the Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka and restore the traditional fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen.

It is learnt Modi would arrive here at around 10.30 a.m. from New Delhi and would go to Madras University Centenary Auditorium to attend the function organised by the union textiles ministry.