Govt to infuse Rs 820cr to support sericulture in NER

30 Jan '17

2 min read

Union textiles minister Smriti Irani delivering the inaugural address at the first ever North East Investors' Summit, at Shillong on January 29, 2017. Courtesy: PIB

The Central government is in a position to infuse Rs 820 crore for supporting sericulture in the North Eastern Region (NER). This is estimated to impact around 3.95 lakh families, with 70 per cent of the resultant employment opportunities accruing to women. The textiles ministry alone has sanctioned projects worth more than Rs 1,040 for the NER.

Textile promotion schemes of handloom, handicrafts, sericulture and garmenting are being implemented, so that the Central government can add to the efforts of the state governments in creating more employment opportunities, Union textiles minister Smriti Irani said while inaugurating the first North East Investors’ Summit, organised jointly by the ministry of textiles and the ministry of DoNER, in Shillong.

In her inaugural address, Irani said that the huge participation in the summit showed not only the trust and belief in the investment opportunities in the NER, but also the investors’ belief that the cooperation among the Government of India and governments of North Eastern states will result in exponential multi-sectoral growth in the region.

On the occasion, Irani launched ‘India Handmade Bazaar’, an online portal, which will provide direct market access facility to handloom weavers and handicraft artisans. The portal will facilitate weavers and artisans to enter information about their products for easy understanding of customers/exporters. Weavers and artisans will be able to access the portal through their mobile number registered with Office of Development Commissioner. The mobile number can be registered by visiting nearest Weavers’ Service Centre or Marketing Centre. Buyers can view the products online and directly contact weaver/artisan to enquire or place an order.

The minister informed the gathering that master craftsmen from the handloom sector will impart training to students across the various NIFT centres in the country, beginning from the coming academic session. She said this will enable the students to learn the legacy craft and imbibe this into contemporary fashion.

During the summit, nearly 20 MoUs were signed to develop and promote NER handicrafts, handlooms, agro-textiles and geo-textiles. Various MoUs were signed to promote collaboration in the textiles sector, in each of the various states in the region. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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