The Centre has announced 6,234-crore rupee package for 13 lakh weavers, including 3 lakhs in Uttar Pradesh. This includes 3,884 crore debt waiver and 2,350 crore for a six-fold strategy to uplift weavers during 12th Plan. The package will be implemented from next January.

This was announced by this Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who also holds additional charge of Textiles, at Varanasi on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference Sharma said an individual weaver will get benefit upto 50,000. The scheme will help 15,000 weavers' cooperative societies besides individual weavers. He said the decision was taken on Friday in New Delhi at the meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi wrote him a letter asking concessions for the debt-ridden weavers.