Textiles minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has said that the apparel and Garment Making Centre which has been operationalized in a record time of one year in Nagaland, can potentially make the state an apparel pioneer in the North East.
“The project for construction of Apparel and Garment Making Centres in North Eastern States is one of the most ambitious ones launched in the textile sector by the centre. It has the potential to change the landscape of the textile industry in North Eastern India. I am happy that Nagaland has become a pioneer in this revolution in the region. Hope this will take the textile industry of the state to new heights,” he said, dedicating the Centre to the people of Nagaland.
At the inauguration ceremony, the minister appreciated the support rendered by the government of Nagaland and also thanked the entrepreneurs for coming forward.
The project to construct an Apparel and Garment Making Centre in every state in the North Eastern Region was launched in Nagaland by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on December 1, 2014. Gangwar laid the foundation stone for the Centre in Dimapur on February 24 last year.
Gangwar said that the purpose of this project is to develop entrepreneurship in apparel manufacturing among the local youth and to provide employment to the local people in those centres. He noted that the apparel industry is most rewarding in terms of revenue generation as well as employment in the entire textile value chain.
He said apparel centres are a small yet significant step in the direction of increasing export share of apparel and garments in overall export of textiles and clothing. The minister expressed confidence that policies and programmes initiated by the government will attract more such investments in the state and help it emerge as a hub for apparel and fashion industry.
Gangwar also launched the newly approved Integrated Eri Silk Development Project, under North Eastern Region in the state capital Kohima.
The minister said that in the last two years, his department has sanctioned three major sericulture projects to Nagaland, with centre’s support of Rs 101.25 crore. He said these projects will support production of all three varieties of silk (Eri, Muga and Mulberry), from plantation to finished product to marketing.
