Impact of globalization on the Village industries in Kerala: a study with special reference to Handloom industry in Ernakulam District

Abstract

The present work, entitled Impact of Globalisation on the Village Industries in Kerala- A Study with Special Reference to Handloom Industry in Ernakulam District is an attempt to evaluate the performance of village industries in Kerala and to particularly analyse the performance of handloom industry in Kerala, during the period of globalisation. The main part of the work is devoted to the empirical analysis of impact of globalisation on the handloom industry in Ernakulam district. The study also comparatively analyses the export performance of Kannur district and HANTEX during the pre and post globalisation periods. The study is organised into eight chapters. The major findings of the study are anlysed under different categories such as performance of khadi and village industries in India, khadi and village industries in Kerala, performance of handloom industry in India, performance of handloom industry in Kerala, problems of handloom industry in central Kerala, impact of globalization on the Indian economy, impact of globalisation on Kerala economy, and the impact of globalisation on handloom industry. Impact of globalisation on handloom industry is analysed with the help of some relevant parametres such as production pattern, innovation, modernisation, quality of labour, employment, production, sales, profits, exports, welfare of beneficiaries etc. Our empirical study reveals that globalisation has produced a negative impact on production, sales and profits of HWCSs in Ernakulam district. At the same time, the industry in the district was less prepared for globalisation as is evident from less modernisation, inelasticity in production pattern, poor quality of labour, limited market accessibility etc. However, the industry depicted a better export performance in Kerala (especially from Kannur) during the post globalisation period. This reflects a good prospect for the handloom industry in Kerala during the post globalisation period.