Textiles Minister lays foundation stone of ITOC in Varanasi

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SME Times News Bureau | 22 Dec, 2015
The Government of India has decided to set up an Integrated Textile Office Complex (ITOC) at Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT), Varanasi.

The proposed office complex will house all offices in Varanasi under the Ministry of Textiles, which work for the welfare of weavers. The Union Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar laid the foundation stone for the integrated complex at IIHT on Sunday.

Co-location of offices of various allied agencies under Ministry of Textiles in the proposed building will provide a common platform to all stakeholders, including weavers, exporters and marketing agencies.

This will enable them to better reap the benefits of Government schemes and with less effort, resulting in saving of time and money. This will thereby contribute to higher productivity, income and better livelihoods for weavers.

In addition, situating ITOC in the IIHT campus will facilitate obtaining of necessary approval for starting the Degree course "B.Tech in Handloom & Textile Technology" at IIHT Varanasi campus on the lines of the course in IIHT Salem. This in itself will fulfill the long-felt need for such a course in this part of the country.

Furthermore, bringing a NIFT extension counter in the IIHT campus will not only catalyze the students' learning process, but will also bring in better synergy between their academic projects and the design related activities of Weavers Service Centre, resulting in value-addition to the weavers' products.

The proposed "Integrated Textile Office Complex (ITOC)" is expected to be ready within two years. The construction will be undertaken by CPWD, at an estimated cost of 64 crore rupees.

The 5-floor building will have a total plinth area of 13,799 square metre. It will house offices of IIHT, Weavers Service Centre, Central Silk Board, NITRA Powerloom Service Centre and NIFT extension centre.

The building will also provide for educational facilities for IIHT, such as classrooms, laboratories and library; and common facilities such as auditorium, seminar hall, cafeteria, sports club, gymnasium and guest house.

Varanasi Mayor, Ram Gopal Mohale; MLA from Varanasi North, Ravindra Jaiswal; Secretary, Textiles, Dr. S. K. Panda and Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Alok Kumar were also present on the occasion.

During this visit to Varanasi, the Textiles Minister also launched an ERP system for National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC).