I am happy to dedicate the Apparel & Garment Making center to the people of Mizoram. The Center has been set up to give an opportunity to local entrepreneurs to convert their ideas and designs into flourishing businesses. The Apparel and Garment Making centers are a reflection of the commitment of the Government to create new opportunities for the youth under Make in India scheme of the Government of India. The Centre will not only provide new avenues to the local entrepreneurs but also create additional employment opportunities for the local people.While dedicating the Apparel and Garment Making Centre to the people of Mizoram, the Hon’ble Minister expressed hope that the Apparel Centre would promote entrepreneurship in the garment industry in Mizoram and open new avenues of employment for the local people. Congratulating the young entrepreneurs who would be running the facility, the Minister assured all possible support to them in making the units commercially viable and self-sustainable, and in setting up the requisite ecosystem for apparel manufacturing in the region. He said that they may also dovetail with other schemes of Government of India, in order to avail financial assistance to start the business.
Apparel Centers are the first organized effort to bring modern ready-made garment industry in North East. Being an unconventional project and the first of its kind experiment in NER the apprehensions are genuine. But I am confident that the fashion savvy state like Mizoram has all the potential to change the face of the textile sector in the region if they are supported with enabling policies and an environment conducive for the growth of the industry. The growth of garment industry in Mizoram will also provide a fillip to the traditional sectors like handlooms, handicrafts and silk etc. and help them to convert the traditional designs into modern garments.Mizoram has been sanctioned six projects across sericulture, handlooms and apparel & garmenting with a total project cost of Rs. 114.82 cr, with Government of India’s share being Rs. 102.90 cr. To maximize the benefits under the projects it is important to achieve convergence across all the projects so that an ecosystem of integrated value chain with requisite backward and forward linkages is created.
The Minister said that the Union Government is committed for the development of NER states, while preserving the unique cultural identity and rich heritage of each of the states. He said that the Government’s development model is Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas; he sought the people’s cooperation in realizing this vision.The Minister thanked the Government of Mizoram for its active support and cooperation without which the mission would not have been possible. He appreciated the work of NBCC as well in constructing the Centre. He expressed hope that the remaining work as pointed out by the State Government will also be completed soon. The function was attended by Minster of State, Ministry of Food Processing, Government of India, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti; Mizoram Industries Minister Shri H. Rohlhuna; Mizoram Sericulture Minister Dr. B. D. Chakma; Textiles Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Dr. Kavita Gupta; Parliamentary Secretary Shri Joseph Lalhimpuia; and other dignitaries.
Background
The project to launch Apparel and Garment Making Centers in each of the eight states in the North Eastern Region was announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 1st December, 2014 in Nagaland. Under the project, one such Apparel and Garment Making Centre consisting three units of 100 industrial stitching and other garmenting machines have been sanctioned in each of the eight NER States with the total cost of Rs. 145.44 crore @ of 18.18 crore per centre. Each Apparel and Garment Making Centre set up under the initiative is estimated to generate direct employment for 1,200 people. Each state will have one centre with three units, each having 100 machines. For local entrepreneurs with requisite background, required facilities to start a unit will be provided in ‘plug and play’ mode. Once such entrepreneurs get established, they can set up their own units, allowing the facility to be provided to new entrepreneurs.
The initiative comes under the North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) of the Ministry of Textiles. NERTPS is an umbrella scheme for the development of various segments of textiles, i.e. silk, handlooms, handicrafts and apparels & garments.The Apparel and Garment Making Centre in Mizoram is one of the eight Apparel & Garmenting Centers being set up by the Ministry under NER Textile Promotion Scheme. The Center is located at Industrial Growth Centre at Luangmual in Aizawl. The foundation stone for the Apparel Centre in Mizoram was laid by the Union Textiles Minister on 3rd July, 2015. The Apparel and Garment Making Centres in Nagaland and Tripura have already been inaugurated by the Minister on 5th April, 2016 and on 8th April, 2016 respectively. Work on other Centres is in progress.