Yarn Scheme (20% Subsidy on Yarn)

What is the Yarn Scheme (20% Subsidy on Yarn) in Manipur?

Yarn Scheme (20% Subsidy on Yarn) is a State Plan scheme of the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles, Manipur, under the Department of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Government of Manipur. The scheme gives a handloom weaver a 20 per cent subsidy on the cost of yarn, and the Directorate describes it as applying to any kind of yarn, not to cotton alone.

According to the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles, the reasoning is simple and stated plainly on its own scheme page: the basic raw material for producing cloth is yarn, and a cloth is the product of the interlacement of warp and weft yarn on a loom. Yarn is therefore the basic requirement for every weaver in the state, and its price is the single biggest variable in whether a household loom stays working.

The stated objective of the scheme is to make available the right yarn at a subsidised price from the right sources to all handloom weavers, so as to sustain weaving activity in Manipur. Two phrases in that objective matter. "Right yarn" means yarn of the count and quality the product actually needs. "Right sources" means authorised supply channels rather than the open market, which is what allows the department to verify the purchase before releasing the subsidy.

Who is eligible for the 20 per cent yarn subsidy?

You can be covered if:

• You are a handloom weaver in Manipur who is actively weaving.
• You are a resident of the state. This is a State Plan scheme funded by the Government of Manipur, so it is limited to Manipur's weavers.
• You hold, or are enrolled for, a Yarn Passbook issued by the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles through your District Project Manager.
• You buy yarn through the source the department recognises for the scheme.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a handloom weaver, the scheme is tied to weaving activity, not to trading in yarn.
• You are a yarn trader or a retail buyer purchasing for resale.
• You have no Yarn Passbook and have not been enrolled by the District Project Manager, since the passbook is the instrument through which subsidised yarn is drawn.
• You are a weaver outside Manipur.

The Directorate has not published a caste, income or age condition for this scheme, and no such condition should be assumed.

How much benefit does the Yarn Scheme give?

The subsidy is 20 per cent of the cost of the yarn. The value in rupees therefore depends entirely on how much yarn a weaver buys and at what price. A weaver who buys Rs 10,000 of yarn in a year receives Rs 2,000 in subsidy, and a weaver who buys Rs 50,000 receives Rs 10,000.

Manipur's 20 per cent is a state subsidy. It sits alongside, and not in place of, the yarn supply support the Ministry of Textiles operates nationally through the National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC), which includes price support and freight reimbursement on yarn moved to the North Eastern states. The combined effect on a weaver's landed cost is worked out at the departmental level; a weaver should ask the District Project Manager how the two are applied to a particular purchase rather than assuming they simply add up at the counter.

What is the Yarn Passbook and how does it work?

The Yarn Passbook is the operating document of the scheme. Passbooks are distributed to weavers of the state through the District Project Managers of the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles, and 10,000 passbooks were released in the first phase. The passbook identifies the weaver as an enrolled beneficiary and provides the record against which subsidised yarn purchases are entered, so that the department can verify who drew how much and at what subsidy.

Because the passbook is issued in phases, a weaver who did not receive one in the first 10,000 is not excluded from the scheme — the correct step is to register the claim with the District Project Manager and wait for the next phase of issue.

How to apply for the Manipur Yarn Scheme

1. Approach your District Project Manager at the district office of the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles, or the Directorate Complex at Lamphelpat, Imphal West. There is no online application route.
2. Ask to be enrolled for a Yarn Passbook. Carry your weaver identity card or Pehchan card if you hold one, your Aadhaar card and proof that you are a resident of Manipur.
3. Collect the Yarn Passbook when it is issued for your district phase, and check that your name, district and weaver details are entered correctly.
4. Buy yarn through the source recognised under the scheme, presenting the passbook so that the purchase is entered against your name.
5. Keep every receipt and the passbook entries. These are the evidence of your purchase if a subsidy claim has to be reconciled later.

How to check the status of your yarn subsidy

There is no online status portal for this scheme. Status is checked in person:

1. Take your Yarn Passbook to the District Project Manager who issued it.
2. Ask for the entries against your passbook number and the subsidy position on your purchases.
3. If the district office cannot resolve it, write to the Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles at the Directorate Complex, Lamphelpat, Imphal West, or call +91 385 2410687.

Common problems weavers face under the Yarn Scheme

• No passbook yet. Passbooks are issued in phases through District Project Managers, so a weaver may be eligible and still be waiting. Register the claim rather than assume rejection.
• Yarn bought outside the recognised source. The objective of the scheme refers specifically to yarn from the right sources; a purchase made outside that channel is difficult to bring into a subsidy claim.
• Passbook details wrong. A misspelt name or a wrong district on the passbook creates problems later. Check at the moment of issue.
• Confusion with central schemes. Weavers frequently assume the 20 per cent replaces central yarn support. It does not; it is a separate state subsidy.

How the Yarn Scheme fits into Manipur's handloom support

Yarn Scheme is one of the Directorate's State Plan schemes, funded by the Government of Manipur. The Directorate runs two distinct streams of work, and knowing which stream a benefit comes from tells a weaver whom to ask.

The State Plan stream includes the Yarn Scheme, the Loom Upgradation Scheme, the Dyeing and Printing Scheme, the Cotton Plantation Scheme, the Handloom and Handicrafts Home Delivery Scheme, the State Awards Scheme for Handloom Weavers, Schemes for Awardees, the Handloom Export Development Approach and the Manipur International Textile Expo (MANITEX).

The Centrally Sponsored stream is separately funded through the Ministry of Textiles and the North Eastern Council. The Directorate records major projects of the last five years worth Rs 12,391.33 lakh in approved cost, including 51 Cluster Development Projects under NERTPS worth Rs 3,001.35 lakh covering 21,073 beneficiaries, Block Level Clusters under NHDP worth Rs 1,621.64 lakh, a handloom scheme under NEC worth Rs 672.86 lakh, and skill development of 25,000 persons under SAMARTH worth Rs 2,500 lakh.

A weaver already enrolled in a cluster project can still draw the state yarn subsidy. The two streams are not alternatives.

Where to get help

Directorate of Handlooms and Textiles, Manipur Directorate Complex, Lamphelpat, Imphal West Phone: +91 385 2410687 Email: support@dhtmanipur.com

The department publishes scheme notifications and forms at dhtmanipur.mn.gov.in. As of August 2026 several of the individual scheme pages on that site were not loading and had been reorganised, so a weaver who cannot reach the page online should go to the district office directly, that is in any case where enrolment and passbook issue happen.