Centre strives to revive Lal Imli, Dhariwal brands

 Lali Imli and Dhariwal are two woollen products manufactured by the BIC – a PSU under the Ministry of Textile. Both the products were being made for the use of civilians and Indian armed forces.

On its revival plans, Textile Minister Santosh Gangwar said, “We have planned to start it on trial basis to regain the past glory. The plan is to re-introduce successful products of Lal Imli and Dhariwal such as lohis, shawls, rugs and blankets and angola fabrics on a trial basis. We are confident that the re-launched products would prove to be a big hit among the masses, thereby paving the way for their revival.”

Nirmal Sinha, who is heading BIC, said, “No doubt, both the products are domestically as well as globally established names. The challenge ahead of us is to maintain the quality of the product, so we have planned to start it on trail basis to regain the past glory.”

“The minister wants both the woollen products to exist. On his guidance, we have made a planned trial and the response is overwhelming. The good news would come soon,” said Sinha, CMD of Handicrafts and Handlooms Export Corporation. “Our focus is to make sustainable products at affordable prices. We have also planned to re-use the pre-installed weaving machines, which were not in operation since 2005,” he said.

The BIC was nationalised and taken over by the government in 1981. The PSU, headquartered in Kanpur, operates two woollen mills in Kanpur and Dhariwal in Punjab. The BIC, which has not generated a profit since 1989, had employed over 2,700 people in 2006 and had aggregated revenues of Rs 373 million. The PSU had ceased manufacturing in 2005.