Arun Jaitley has presented his second budget for the year 2015-16, in the Parliament. He was quite worried about fiscal space, consciously reduced. Unfortunately, the same conscious did not increase his understanding of the tremendous fiscal constraints being faced by handloom weavers. Instead of responding with a good and sumptuous budget allocation, cruelly, budget for handloom weavers has been slashed by almost Rs.118 crores. The big question is, will this budget increase the prospects of handloom sector? Will this bring succor to the economic conditions of handloom weavers? Following is the table of allocations, in comparison with previous two budgets: BJP Manifesto – Only Talk BJP Manifesto, and the election-eve speeches of their leaders, has promised inclusive development, sabka saath sabka vikaas. Arun Jaitley’s budget has not included handloom weavers. Handloom sector which provides employment to more than 1 crore people gets a paltry Rs.446.60 crores. This is in fact a reduction of 21 percent over the previous year. BJP Manifesto promised to strategically develop labour intensive manufacturing. Per capita spending of the government on handloom sector, a labour intensive textile manufacturing section, spread all over India, does not exceed Rs.500. But, it is ready to spend Rs.1,000 crores on Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU). Government’s target of encouraging self employment would have been reached with smaller investments in handloom sector. Thousands of handloom weavers are becoming poorer by the day, as their wages are not increasing. Big Promise, Tiny Deliverance BJP Manifesto promises to “augment their traditional artisanship and entrepreneurial skill, which are a backbone of our cottage and small-scale industry – strengthening these sectors through better market linkages, branding and access to credit.” However, no proposals have been made to support beleaguered sections of society, who have been toiling for generations. Handloom weavers have been demanding for long for provision of access to low interest credit. Presently, to produce handloom products, they are borrowing money at exorbitant interest rates, ranging from normal to the bizarre, from 14 percent to 60 percent. Previously, a Loan waiver package of Rs.2,205 crores included in the 2012-13 budget. This is a huge scale down from Rs.6,800 crore package. However, implementation levels did not exceed Rs.291 crores. Government could not reach the needy handloom weavers to relieve them of debt burden. Debt burden on individual handloom weavers has been for multiple reasons over which they do not have any control or say. Cost of living has increased in the last fifteen years steadily, and tremendously over the last few years, generously aided by inflation and under regulation of basic food commodity prices. Cost of raw material, especially cotton and silk yarn have also gone up. Prices of yarn have been climbing continuously. Silk has been climbing rapidly in the last four years. With competition, from cheap and fake handloom products, wearing them down, handloom weavers had no way to increase their incomes to respond to raising costs of living and raw material prices. Further, the most critical component of their production, working capital flows are drying up from ‘traditional sources’ and institutional mechanisms. NABARD the only comparatively cheap source of finances for handloom sector has drastically reduced its exposure. With the result, handloom weavers were forced to find ‘expensive’, private sources of finances. Interest rates at this level usually are higher and are not regulated. Lack of awareness, exploitative conditions compounds the misery caused by high interest rates. In this scenario, loan waiver was a necessity and a requirement. Governments have telescopically reduced their response in this regard. From a NABARD estimation to Planning Commission estimates to government allocations to actual disbursement, entire route of government doles has failed handloom sector and handloom weavers. In 2013-14, a paltry Rs.157 crores was allocated. Expenditure in the same year has exceeded this allocation reaching Rs.269.79 crores. In 2014-15, no allocation has been done for this critical support. By this year in 2015-16, government seems to have completely forgotten the need of the handloom weavers, in this regard. Only three Schemes, Tall Claims BJP Manifesto promised that schemes will be drawn for skills upgradation and enhancement of business opportunities for handloom weavers. Instead of drawing and adding schemes, which respond to their distressed situation, handloom weavers are now staring at further reduction in existing schemes.