The Orissa Union Minister of State for textiles, Panabaaka Lakshmi, in a statement in Rajya Sabha said that, the Board of Governors of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) has given a nod to establish two new NIFT centres at Bhubaneswar in Orissa and Jodhpur in Rajasthan from the academic year 2010-11.
There are around 13 NIFT centres across the country, including cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kangra. NIFT was established in 1986, under the Ministry of Textiles, with an objective to impart training to people in fashion designing, garment manufacturing technology and apparel marketing and merchandising.
The institute has acquired a significant position among the leading fashion schools of India. The Parliament had passed NIFT Bill-2005, in the year 2006, under which, the institute gained authority to grant its own degrees and other academic distinctions.