In keeping with the Government of India’s commitment towards the social and economic development of handloom weavers, the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles held a show on Sunday, 15th November, 2015 to promote the Handloom Mark and the Banaras textile as part of the India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2015 at Pragati Maidan.

Conceptualised by FDCI with a collection by designers and master weavers from Ekaya Banaras, the show ran over four segments and paid tribute to the heritage-soaked craftsmanship of the weavers of Banaras.

Sanjay Kumar Panda, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, addressed the audience before the show, “I would like to thank Sunil Sethi, FDCI Members and Bharat Shah of Ekaya Banaras, for a well organised show.”

Adding to this Mr. S.K. Panda said, “Youth, fashion and technology hold the key to the future of handlooms. It is critical to raise awareness among people, and also handloom weavers about how to market their products across the country. The government has taken many initiatives on development in the organised and unorganised sectors of the textile industry and has stressed upon setting up integrated textile parks, increasing export, development of handlooms, promotion of handicrafts and boosting sericulture.”

Sunil Sethi, President, FDCI said, “We would like to thank the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, for giving FDCI an opportunity to collaborate with them. This collection by Ekaya Banaras, will generate a lot of business and provide employment to more weavers.”

The event witnessed the presence of many distinguished guests from the Ministry of Textiles as well as participants and visitors from different countries at the India International Trade Fair 2015. The theme for IIFT this year is ‘Make in India’.