Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday asserted that the government focuses on bringing reforms in the textile industry sector and announced the launch of ‘Mahatma Gandhi Handloom Scheme’. Sitharaman, who was speaking while presenting the Union Budget 2026-27, mentioned that the main purpose of ‘Mahatma Gandhi Handloom Scheme’ is to strengthen the khadi, handloom, and handicraft sectors.”I propose to set up mega textile parks in challenge mode. I propose to launch the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative to strengthen Khadi and handloom,” Sitharaman said.The initiative also aims to provide global market linkages and branding support, while streamlining training, skilling, and production quality. It is expected to benefit weavers, village industries, the One District One Product (ODOP) programme, and rural youth.The Finance Minister proposed an integrated programme with five key components. The first is the National Fibre Scheme, aimed at achieving self-reliance in natural fibres like silk, wool, and jute, as well as man-made and new industrial-age fibres.