 bill no 113 of  2016 the powerloom sector (welfare) bill, 2016 by shri om prakash yadav,  mp a billto provide for the protection and welfare of the weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs engaged in powerloom sector and for matters connected therewithbe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the powerloom sector (welfare) act, 2016short title and extent(2) it extends to the whole of indiadefinitions2 (a) "appropriate government" means in the case of a state, the government of that state and in all other cases, the central government;(b) "weaver" means a person who works or operates on a powerloom for the production of cloth;5(c) "worker" means a worker who is engaged in any activity of production of cloth on powerloom for any remuneration or wages either in cash or in kind; and(d) "small entrepreneur" means a person engaged in buying cloth and yarn produced from powerlooms but whose total investment in plant and machinery does not exceed rupees five crore103 (1) the central government shall, within one year from the commencement of this act, formulate a national welfare policy for the weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs engaged in powerloom sector(2) without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the national welfare policy shall include the following provisions:—formulation of national welfare policy for weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs15(a) interest free loans to powerloom weavers and workers; (b) payment of ex-gratia amount to the family of such weavers, who die inharness;(c) supply of cotton yarn and other raw materials at subsidised rate to thepowerloom weavers;20(d) measures for stabilising the price of cotton yarn; (e) insurance cover to all powerloom weavers and workers;(f) health care facilities to powerloom weavers and workers and their dependent family members;25(g) educational facilities including vocational training for the dependent children of weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs of powerloom sector;(h) measures for revival of powerloom units which are on the verge of closure due to any reason; and(i) such other welfare measures as the central government may deem necessary30(3) the appropriate government shall implement welfare measures provided for the weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs under this act, in such manner as may be prescribed4 the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament  by law in this behalf, provide adequate funds for carrying out the purposes of this actcentral government to provide adequate funds35power to remove difficulties5 (1) if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this act, the central government may, by order published in the official gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the date of commencement of this act40(2) every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each house of parliamentact to have overriding effect6 the provisions of this act and the rules made thereunder shall come into effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in forcepower to make rules  57  (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act10(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement of objects and reasonspowerloom sector is one of the most important segments of the textile industry in our country there are more than five lakh powerloom units in the country and nearly twentythree lakh powerloom from which nearly six million workers earn their livelihood these powerloom units are located mainly in the states of maharashtra, andhra pradesh, tamil nadu, madhya pradesh, uttar pradesh and bihar bhiwandi, malegaon and ichalkaranchi in the state of maharashtra are its main centres in fact, powerloom units are spread across the length and breadth of the country most of the weavers are engaged in this profession for many generations powerloom is the only source of sustenance for the weavers, workers and for small entrepreneurs cloth made from powerlooms is in vogue not only at home but also abroadit is unfortunate that the weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs are facing a lot of difficulties in bhiwandi, in the state of maharashtra, many units have been closed down and several others are on the verge of collapse there are a number of reasons for it the foremost reason for this is non-availability of yarn at affordable prices there is no uniformity in the price of cotton yarn packets of yarn don't indicate price, which leads to the purchase of yarn at inflated prices as a result, a large number of powerloom units have to be closed down because their operation becomes unviableif no concrete remedial measures are taken to save powerloom sector, there is a risk of extinction of this sector in near futurethe most disturbing and sad part is that most of the weavers are debt-ridden and poverty-stricken for long and their condition has become miserable the families of helpless weavers, workers are facing starvation the business of small entrepreneurs in the sector is suffering therefore, it requires intervention on the part of the government to take immediate remedial measures in order to save the powerloom sector there is an urgent need for formulation and implementation of a national welfare policy for welfare of weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs engaged in powerloom sector in the countryhence this billnew delhi;om prakash yadavapril 12, 2016 financial memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for the formulation and implementation of a national welfare policy for weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs clause 4 provides that the central government shall provide requisite funds to carry out the provisions of this bill the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is likely to involve a recurring expenditure of about rupees five thousand crore per annum from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of rupees five hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 7 of  the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the matters will relate to detail only, the delegation of legislative powers is of a normal character————— a billto provide for the protection and welfare of the weavers, workers and small entrepreneurs engaged in powerloom sector and for matters connected therewith—————(shri om prakash yadav, mp)gmgipmrnd—171ls(s3)—02052016