Textiles minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has laid the foundation stone of Apparel and Garment Making Centre at Aizawl, in Mizoram bringing this tiny state on the textile map of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Gangwar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given special attention to the textiles sector with special focus on the North Eastern Region. The Apparel and Garment Making Centres are being opened in every state of the region as part of the landmark initiative announced by the Prime Minister.
The Centre will be the beginning of setting up an organized industry in Mizoram in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of “Sabke Saath Sab ka Vikas”, Gangwar said.
Such Centres have been set up earlier this year at all other seven states of the region under the North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) of the textile ministry.
NERTPS is an umbrella scheme for the development of various segments of textiles, i.e. silk, handlooms, handicrafts and garments. Of the total outlay of Rs 1038.10 crore, Rs 18.9 crore has been given to Mizoram for setting up of this centre where the state government provides 1.5 acre of land free of cost. The centre will be managed by the textiles ministry for 5 years and will later be handed over to the state government.
Meanwhile, the government plans to spend Rs.20 crore for such centre which will be set up on 1.50 acres of land and generate employment for about 1,200 people per centre. Such modern apparel manufacturing centre would be set in each of the eight north-eastern states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
In consultation with the textile ministry, the CMAI has decided to open one training centre in each of the eight states. The textile Ministry plans to impart training to 15 lakh people over next two years in apparel making under its skill development programme.