Annual Conference of State Textile Ministers was held here on Wednesday. The Conference was chaired by Union Minister of State for Textiles (Independent charge), Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Minister for Industries and Commerce Chander Prakash Ganga participated in the conference.While addressing the conference, the Minister said the state of Jammu and Kashmir has rich tradition of handicrafts, handlooms, silk and wool production and the government is trying to attract investment in textile parks.He said the handicrafts industry in J&K is an important sector contributing to economy of the state and allied sectors like handloom have considerable role in terms of income generation and employment creation.He said state’s handicraft products have earned global acclaim for their exquisite designs, craftsmanship and functional utility, adding that the woollen and silken carpets of the state remain unparalleled on the national and international scene for quality and design.
While speaking on the occasion, Ganga said the institutes like Craft Development Institute, Indian Institute of Carpet Technology, National Institute of Fashion Technology and Weaver Service Centre are functional in state but still a lot needs to be done for the benefit of workforce engaged in the handicrafts and handloom sector.The Minister pressed the need for opening of Indian Institute of Handloom Technology Campus in J&K and immediate requirement of the International Trade Centres in Jammu and Srinagar.Ganga urged the centre for increasing import duty on import of Raw Pashmina from other countries as low quality cheap Pashmina is giving tough competition to local high quality Pashmina.In order to develop and conduct national and state level exhibitions, the Minister stressed for inclusion of State Handloom Development Department as implementing agency under the revised guidelines of National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP).
Emphasizing on the need to develop handloom and handicrafts in the state, Ganga urged for financial assistance to J&K Handicrafts (S&E) Corporation and J&K Handloom Development Corporation.The Minister also highlighted other issues on the occasion including setting up of a full fledged Weavers Service Centre (WSC) at Jammu, opening of a National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) campus at Jammu and establishment of 100 export oriented villages (handlooms & handicrafts) with GI certification and allotment of 50 stalls at Dilli Haat.Among others, Ministers in charge of Textiles matters of 8 States, namely Bismita Gogoi (Assam), H. Rohluna (Mizoram), Amenba Yaden (Nagaland), Snehangini Chhuria (Odisha), Gajendra Singh Khimsar, S. Gokul Indira (Tamil Nadu), Brahma Sankar Tripathi (Uttar Pradesh), Jupally Krishna Rao (Telangana) and Dr B.D. Chakma (Mizoram) attended the Conference and participated in the proceedings.