Bhubaneswar: There are currently 65,353 registered handloom weavers and 153 primary weavers’ cooperative societies in Bargarh, Balangir, and Subarnapur districts, revealed Minister for Textiles, Handlooms & Handicrafts, Pradeep Bal Samanta.
The Minister’s response came in reply to a query by MLA Sagar Charan Das seeking the current number of registered handloom weavers and cooperative societies in these districts.
Minister also reported that primary weavers’ cooperative societies (PWCS) in Western Odisha received financial and marketing assistance under various schemes. In Bargarh, 10 PWCS received Rs 403.56 lakh in 2024-25 and 10 PWCS received Rs 92.17 lakh in 2025-26 under the 10% Rebate scheme. In Bolangir, no PWCS received assistance in 2024-25, while 3 PWCS received Rs 2.72 lakh in 2025-26 under the same scheme. Subarnapur saw 5 PWCS receive Rs 0.94 lakh in 2024-25 and 4 PWCS receive Rs 1.91 lakh in 2025-26 under 10% Rebate. Additionally, 12 PWCS in Subarnapur received Rs 2.165 lakh in 2024-25 under MI/MDA. In total, 27 PWCS received Rs 406.665 lakh in assistance.
