In order to promote handlooms, 10 more Design Resource Centres (DRCs) are in the process of being set up by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) at Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCs).
These DRCs will be at Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kannur, Indore, Nagpur, Meerut, Bhagalpur and Panipat.
In a statement, Ministry of Textiles (MoT) said that these centres will build and create design-oriented excellence in the handloom sector and to facilitate weavers, exporters, manufacturers and designers access design repositories for sample/product improvisation and development.
DRCs are being established by NIFT in all WSCs in a phased manner, wherein vast inventory of designs and resources will be available for use by exporters, manufacturers, designers, weavers and other stakeholders.
The MoT has roped in NIFT keeping in view the fact that it is an in-house organisation of MoT, of which handloom also is a part. Besides, the expertise of NIFT in fashion and design trends can be utilised by the handloom sector for greater market linkage.
DRCs have been set up and inaugurated in WSCs of Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati, Jaipur and Varanasi.