Abstract
The town of Kanchipuram is well knownas Silk City because almost of its population is dependent upon the silk
industry. Skilled and semi-skilled weavers from neighbouring towns like Salem, Arani, Coimbatore and Kumbakonam are also involved in the production of silk sarees. India is the world’s second largest producer of silk, contributing roughly 18% of the total world production of silk. In India, silk production is concentrated mainly in South India. Kanchipuram is a significant producer of silk in South India. Initially, this industry was dominated by a handful of merchants who used to procure sarees from the local weavers and sell them. This system was disadvantageous to the weavers, who did not receive just compensation for their labour. In the year 1949, the first cooperative society of weavers was formed, called the Kamatchi Amman Society. This society consisted of 79 weavers, who were provided financial support and several other benefits. Over the course of time, more and more co-operative societies were formed. Today, there is about 24 cooperative societies, most of which are managed by the Tamilnadu government. Some of the reputed co-operative societies of weavers are the Kamatchi Amman Silk Society, Murugan Silk Society, Varadharaja Swamy Silk Society and others. The Kamatchi Amman Society now has about 2000 members and is one of the biggest. Totally, there are about 50,000 weavers who work through various cooperative societies. The current study tries to analyze various financial problems encountered by the silk industry. The approach of the study has been from the point of view of financial issues and revival of silks, considering the enormity of silk industry.
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