Overview
- The scheme will provide 200 free electricity units per month for handlooms and 500 units for powerlooms starting April 1, 2026.
- About 103,534 weaver families are slated to benefit, including roughly 93,000 handloom households and 10,534 powerloom units.
- The government estimates monthly savings of about ₹720 for handloom weavers and ₹1,800 for powerloom operators.
- Reports diverge on fiscal impact, with The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle citing roughly ₹85 crore annually while a PTI/News18 item frames the cost as nearly ₹85 crore per month.
- Complementary steps include raising weavers’ pensions to ₹4,000 for 87,280 beneficiaries, clearing about ₹7 crore in cooperative arrears, a 15% yarn subsidy, a ₹1.67 crore Thrift Fund release, MoUs for e-commerce market access, and planned textile parks and a Unity Mall.