Irani inaugurates CEPC office in Srinagar

S upporting the Kashmir carpet industry, Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister for Textiles, Government of India inaugurated Srinagar office of Carpet Export Promotion Council in the premises of IICT Srinagar through video conferencing on February 23, 2019.

Eminent personalities including Shantmanu, IAS, Development Commissioner (Handicrafts); Ratnesh Kumar Jha, Additional Development Commissioner (Handicrafts); Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman CEPC; Purnima Mittal, Additional District Development Commissioner Srinagar; Zubair Ahmad, Director IICT; Umer Hameed, second Vice-Chairman, CEPC, and Sanjay Kumar, Executive Director, CEPC; along with Gulam Nabi Dar from Carpet Manufacturers Association and Fiaz Ahmad, exporter, were also present on the occasion.

In her address, Irani expressed her happiness and wished that CEPC's Srinagar office proves to be beneficial for all the stakeholders, and leads to enhance exports and on the other hand, also open new avenues for more employment opportunities in the region. On the video conference, she also informed that 90,000 applications have been received for the registration under Pahchan initiative and 60,000 Pahchan ID Cards have also been distributed to the artisans so far. The textile minister said that she desires for more such initiatives in order to benefit the weavers/ artisans of the country.

Interacting with members of the carpet industry, the minister also talked about their issues and the concerns of Government on Handmade Carpet Sector, and also assure full support to the industry for its growth.

A few points which were discussed on the inauguration included: Textile Committee in partnership with DCH and CEPC will provide special lab testing facilities at IICT in Srinagar, CEPC and DCH will assure availability of designers in collaboration with institutes like National Institute of Design (NID), FDIC etc.; Wool Bank will be opened in collaboration with Wool Development Board to ensure availability of sufficient raw wool through the follow up of the office of the Development Communication Handicrafts. Besides, the meeting also decided that common washing, Dying and ETP Projects to be initiated by CEPC through the office of the DCH and textile ministry; For reduction of GST on Pashmina Shawls, a suitable proposal of the industry will be recommended to the Ministry of Finance from the Ministry of Textiles. Also, CEPC will work closely with JKTPO to help the marketing and branding requirement of the manufacturers and traders from J&K at trade shows within India and across the globe, to mention a few.

Mahavir Pratap Sharma, Chairman, CEPC thanked the Ministry of Textiles and Committee of administration for their support. And he said that it is because of their support and confidence, he is able to open CEPC's Regional office at Srinagar – which is a milestone in the growth journey of the Council and Handmade Carpet Industry. He further elaborated saying that the Srinagar office will be helpful for better coordination between Member Exporters and Council.

Not only him, but the entire carpet industry in Srinagar is grateful to the Minister and her proactiveness of announcing all the schemes on the spot. The minister, in turn, thanked the Prime Minister and his leadership for supporting all industries' especially carpets in the state.

The Indian Handmade carpet Industry is an age-old industry and has made significant strides in the recent past. The Industry is highly labour intensive and provides employment to over two million workers directly and indirectly in the rural areas especially women in their homes. After Iran, Kashmir carpets are one of the most expensive carpets in the world. Now Kashmir is also producing modernly designed carpets. State of Jammu and Kashmir is a traditional handicraft state and famous for handicrafts and carpets. Kashmir is famous for exquisite high-quality hand-knotted woolen and silk carpets which are symbolic of quality and finesse.

These carpets have a typically local character imbued in every knot which transforms mere material into magnificent creations of silk and wool with colors and designs that are second to none. Pure Silk Carpets from Kashmir are matchless in design, craftsmanship, and feel. These carpets are woven with 324-2500 knots per square inch and even 4000 knots per square inch and Persian designs are followed. The main carpet producing areas in the state are Baramulla, Bandipura, and Anantnag, Badgam, Pulwama, to name a few. There are approximately 40,000 Carpet Looms in J&K and estimated artisans are around 1.50 lakhs.