Telangana gets nod for establishing Indian Institute of Handloom Technology

Hyderabad: The Union government has recently given its nod to establishing the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) in Telangana to help students obtain technical textile degrees and diplomas within the borders of their home state.

Till now, students interested in studying handloom technology had to travel to Andhra and Orissa IIHT. In addition to providing regular training, the IIHT offers courses in marketing, international trade, apparel design, technical textiles, and textile design. Union Textiles secretary Rachana Shah, who was recently in the city, received an appeal from Handlooms minister Tummala Nageswara Rao asking her to approve an IIHT for Telangana.

Encouraging skilled workers

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy during his New Delhi visit earlier, had urged Union minister of Industries Piyush Goyal as well to sanction the IIHT to the state. “Telangana is seeing an influx of foreign and domestic companies thanks to the State government’s T-Tap Policy (Industrial Policy of Textile Sector). To meet the demands of these businesses, it is necessary to guarantee the availability of more skilled workers,” Nageswara Rao said.

The handlooms minister also said that Telangana students’ employment prospects would be enhanced by the establishment of the IIHT. To push the textile industry into worldwide standards, the minister stated that having technically qualified students in the State would be beneficial, he added.

State programmes for weavers

Earlier, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government rolled out several new schemes and revised some of the existing schemes for the welfare of weavers.

An increase in the ex-gratia payment for TSCO members, a comprehensive health insurance scheme for weavers under the Aarogyasri Trust, and a programme called Telangana Chenetha Maggam to convert pit looms to frame looms are just a few of the new initiatives introduced by the previous government.

Also, foundation stones were laid for the Handlooms Handicrafts Museum at Shilparamam in Hyderabad, and a convention centre in Uppal Bagayat. The previous BRS government also urged the Centre to support the textile and handloom sector in the state, calling for reducing GST on textiles and removing all taxes including GST on handloom.