Participants of 51st edition of Know India Programmes (KIP) called on the Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani, in New Delhi today. This edition of KIP has been scheduled from January 5thto 29thJanuary, 2019 in partnership with Gujarat. The participants will also visit Gujarat for 10-days from January 10thto 19thJanuary, 2019. There are forty participants, of which 26 are women,from 8 countries of Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago and USA.The KIP is a 25-day orientation programme organized by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the states of India. It is an initiative of the Government of India with an aim to engage the students and young professionals of Indian diaspora in the age group of 18 to 30 to connect with their motherland. The main objective is to motivate and inspire young minds and to give them an exposure to various aspects of India’s art, heritage and culture and to promote awareness about different facets of life in the country and the progress made by India in various fields.
Interacting with the participants of the KIP, the Textiles Minister said that the textiles sector is the second largest employer in the country after agriculture and the 70% of total work force are women. During her 30-minute interaction, she spoke about different facets of textiles and Indian culture and heritage. She also spoke about the India Handloom Brand, launched on August 7, 2015 as part of the first ever National Handloom Day celebrations to promote traditional hand woven fabrics. The Textiles Minister advised the young boys and girls to visit DilliHaat to see the rich variety of hand crafted items. She also advised them to visit different parts of the country to feel the pulse of the nation.Since 2004, the Ministry of External Affairs has conducted 49 editions of KIP in which more than 1600 Indian youth have participated fromoverseas.