Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar inaugurated a Weavers’ Service Centre at Toluvi in Northeastern state of Nagaland, and also laid the foundation stone for Apparel & Garment Making Centre at Dimapur, also in Nagaland.
The inauguration of the service centre and laying the foundation stone for apparel making centre reflect the government’s intent to make development inclusive and participatory. They also build upon the ‘Make in India’ brand, so as to take the textile industry in the North East region to greater heights, the textiles ministry said in a press release.
In order to promote the textile industry in the North East region, the ministry of textiles has undertaken a major initiative under the North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS). The NERTPS is an umbrella scheme for the development of various segments of textiles, i.e. silk, handlooms, handicrafts and apparels. The scheme has a total outlay of Rs 1038.10 crore in the 12th Five Year Plan.
Under the NERTPS, a landmark initiative was launched in December 2014 for construction of apparel and garment making centres in North Eastern States. Under this, each state will have one centre with three units. 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 project is fully funded by the ministry, with an estimated expense of Rs 18.18 crore for each state. The central assistance would be towards construction of physical infrastructure, purchase of machinery and capacity building for next three years. Each centre is estimated to generate direct employment for 1,200 people.
