Celebrating the achievements in the textile sector over the last four and a half years, Ministry of Textiles organized the two-day outreach programme in Delhi recently. The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu conferred ‘Threads of Excellence Awards’ on 17 persons for their outstanding contribution in different fields of textile sector. Addressing the event, he said that the sector needs to be recognized and respected by all.
“I understand that India’s export performance has not been up to expectations for a variety of reasons. It cannot be a business as usual and the industry has to rise to the occasion and ensure that the share of India’s exports reaches double digits.” – M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President, India
Prior to this ‘National Conclave on Accomplishments and Way Forward for Textiles Sector’ was inaugurated by the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani. Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta and Textiles Secretary Raghvendra Singh, among various other experts shared their views during the panel discussions on technical textiles, ease of doing textiles business, handicrafts, access to global markets and supply chains.
Rahul Mehta, President, CMAI; Sanjay Jain, Chairman, CITI and Raja Shanmugam, President, TEA shared their views on various issues.
The event was launched at the iconic Red Fort with presentation of eight special recognition awards for the excellent work in textiles sector. In addition, 16 artisans who have enriched the handloom sector with their creative work in weaving and printing, were felicitated. Craft Revivalist and Textile Conservationist Madhu Jain, Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) President Sunil Sethi; scientists Vijaya Kumar and Kiran D. Malali; weaver Ramesh Devangan; Kotak & Co Chairman Suresh Kotak; MD, Appachi Cotton Mani Chinnaswamy, were also felicitated. Famous designers Anita Dongre, Anju Modi, Gaurang Shah, Rahul Mishra, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Rohit Bal showcased traditionalwear at the event.
