The government will announce a package for the powerloom sector on April 1, Textiles Minister Smriti Irani informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The policy will reportedly be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Surat, ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls scheduled to be held later this year, according to sources.

In reply to another supplementary, Irani said the Centre will facilitate Tangaliya weavers in Surendranagar, Gujarat, in purchase of looms by providing them an assistance amounting to 90 per cent of the price of looms.

On a question related to the weaver community, Irani said 30 per cent of the family members of weavers do not go to school and just one per cent complete their graduation.

She said the Development Commissioner for Handlooms under her Ministry had entered into two separate memoranda of understanding with IGNOU and the National Institute of Open Schooling on August 7, 2016, to provide education to handloom weavers and their children through open schooling and distance learning.

Irani said the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has dentified two academic programmes — Bachelor Prepatory Programme and Computer Literacy Programme. “So far, 6,175 students from the weaver' community have been enrolled in these programmes,” she added.