Carpet traders and weavers in Uttar Pradesh are hoping that the forthcoming annual Budget will offer them some sops.
Traders and weavers in the state's Bhadohi district, which is famous for hand knit carpets and hand tufted carpets, said they want the government to help them regain markets lost due to the recession.
In the wake of the global economic slowdown, small exporters are being wiped out while large exporters are striving to survive.
"As far as the carpet industry is concerned, it does most of the business with America and Europe and the recession has badly affected trade. Our demand is that the government should give us grants to look for more markets abroad," said Ashok Kapoor, a carpet exporter.
The traders also said that the government should reconsider the taxes levied on them.
"The labour cost has increased 25-30 percent. In this scenario, how are we going to compete in the market? The government wants us not to add the local taxes it levies on us on the export rates, but if the taxes are levied to us then we will carry that forward as our cost," said Anurag Chandra, a carpet exporter.
Varanasi is famous for its hand woven carpets the world over.
The carpet industry, being highly labour intensive and decentralised, is an important source of employment and a foreign exchange earner.
According to estimates, there are 1,215 carpet manufacturing units in India, out of which 190 are in the organised sector and the rest are in small-scale industry sector.
