The town of Balaramapuram, in Kerala is well known throughout the country for quality textiles and crafts produced there. This is a source of pride to the local community and to me, personally, as their representative in Parliament.

However the community needs a comprehensive financial package that would provide loan wavers to alleviate the burden of debt, to overhaul infrastructure, to improve working conditions for the artisans through the inclusion of Balaramapuram in the Mega Cluster initiative. The urgent financial and technical support the scheme offers, coupled with the immense potential benefit to SMEs through training with assistance from the Ministry of Human Resource Development is the best way to ensure that next generation of artisans improve their livelihoods.

I, therefore, urge the Government to urgently provide the immediate loan waiver support and to include Balaramapuram as part of the Mega Cluster Scheme.