Home » Telangana » After Postcard To Modi Ktr Launches Online Petition For Removal Of Gst On Handloom Products

After postcard to Modi, KTR launches online petition for removal of GST on handloom products

GST on handlooms is a direct threat to the millions of people who earn their livelihoods in the handloom sector, KTR said.

ByRaj Rayasam

Published Oct 23, 2022 | 5:09 PM ⚊UpdatedOct 23, 2022 | 5:09 PM

Cover photo of the change.org petition launched by Telangana Handloom Minister KTR. (Supplied)

A day after kicking off a postcard campaign, Telangana Handlooms and Textiles Minister KT Rama Rao launched an online petition appealing to the Union Government to remove the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on handloom products in order to safeguard the lives of weavers and protect India’s cultural heritage.

KTR stated in the petition on Sunday, 23 October, that India is home to almost five million handloom workers who produce unique products without the aid of mechanical energy, and that the highly decentralised and rural-based handloom industry employs mostly women.

On Saturday, he had written a postcard addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to roll back the five percent GST on handloom products.

Taking to Twitter, KTR requested everyone to sign the change.org petition and share it with their friends and family. He appealed to people to join hands for the noble cause.

Let’s protect the handloom sector by joining hands for a noble cause. I request everyone to sign this petition and also share it with their friends and family. https://t.co/cCk8o9Mh7F #RollbackHandloomGST

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— KTR (@KTRTRS) October 23, 2022

‘Weavers oppose tax’

“GST on handlooms is a direct threat to the millions of people who earn their livelihoods in the handloom sector. Weavers across the country unanimously oppose taxes on handloom since it had resulted in huge losses, forcing many to turn away from the traditional craft,” he tweeted.

The minister aid that the handloom sector is one of the largest unorganised sectors and forms an integral part of rural and semi-rural livelihood.

“The handloom sector in India is reeling under the impact of the Covid pandemic and any move to increase the tax will sound the death knell for the sector,” he stated, adding that handloom weaving represents one of the richest and most vibrant aspects of the Indian cultural heritage.

He said that this is the first government to levy GST on handlooms since independence.