Handloom weavers in India survived the onslaught of machine-made textiles of Manchester, because of : (i) The technological changes. They adopted new technologies which improved production without putting up the costs. (ii) The use of a fly shuttle with a loom increased productivity per worker speeded up production and reduced labour demand. By 1941, over 35% of handlooms in India were fitted with fly shuttles. In some regions like Travancore, Madras, Mysore, Cochin and Bengal the proportion was 70 to 80 per cent. There were several other innovations that helped weavers improve their production. (iii) Another reason was that the demand for finer varieties of yarn, bought by the well-to-do was stable. The coarser cloth, bought by poor, suffered in comparison when there were famines or bad harvests. The rich could buy Banarasi or Baluchari sarees even when there were famines. Mills could not produce sarees with woven boders or famous lungis of Madras, so the weavers survived. They could not be easily displaced by mill production.