Chennai, Jul 14 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu state handloom department is on a mission to promote handlooms among all income groups in the state and to scout for international markets.

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had on Tuesday met Minister for Handlooms and Textiles, R Gandhi and Minister for Rural Industries, T.M. Anbarasan and held a review meeting on the status of handlooms in the state. He directed the department to conduct a massive publicity campaign on Tamil Nadu handlooms and to promote the brand Co-optex among the younger generation.

The Tamil Nadu government has also directed its employees to wear handloom clothes twice a week to promote the products.

The department is in the process of roping in advertisement agencies for publicising the product and is in discussions with designers to develop a new brand that would be attractive to the high-income groups as well as the younger generation.

The state government has allocated Rs 1000 crore for increasing silk production in the state and a slew of measures for this are in the pipeline.

Sources in the state handloom department told IANS that the minister has asked the officials to scout for international buyers. The idea, according to officials, is to mainly target the Tamil diaspora spread across the world and then move to get international business on the basis of the quality and design of the material.

The DMK had in its election manifesto of 2021 pledged to help the weavers and the steps being taken to promote handlooms are considered as a first step to uplift the ailing handloom sector of the state.

Muthukumaran, a weaver from Kannyakurmai district of Tamil Nadu who belongs to a family of traditional weavers, told IANS that "The steps taken by the government are welcome but they should be taken to their logical conclusion and not dropped midway. We are in the doldrums following the Covid pandemic as well as the lack of interest in handloom products. Moreover the time consumed for making a product is not considered when it is priced and this gives us very little returns on our efforts."