Tantuja, the apex handloom cooperative society in West Bengal, will receive the National Award for Design Development for handloom products from the central government, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday.
The awards will be given on the occasion of National Handloom Day on August 7.
In a tweet, Mamata said: “Happy to share that our state apex society for handlooms, Tantuja, will be receiving National Award for Design Development for handloom products on National Handloom Day from Govt of India, Ministry of Textiles.”
She also congratulated the nine weavers selected to get the national design and marketing award known as the Sant Kabir award and the National Weavers award.
Tantuja was established in 1954 by the West Bengal government for marketing of handloom products representing the primary co-operative weavers of the state.
National Handloom Day is observed to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement that began in 1907 in colonised Bengal to boycott foreign goods and accept on Indian-made (swadeshi) goods.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 started the first National Handloom Day to recognise the efforts of weavers and appreciate handwoven goods across India. The government also implemented a few schemes to assist the Handloom communities like the Handloom Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme, National Handloom Development Programme, Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme and Yarn Supply Scheme.