The Ministry of Textiles, headed by Smriti Irani announcing a revival strategy for the handloom industry on the occasion of the National Handloom Day held on August 7 stated that the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has collaborated with the Development Commissioner handlooms to reinvent indigenous crafts executed by handloom weavers through effective skill development.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will facilitate designer intervention at selected Weavers Service Centers across India was signed between Alok Kumar, Development Commissioner Handlooms and Sunil Sethi, President Fashion Design Council of India.

Through this initiative, designers will impart professional training in design development at various Weaver Service Centers across the country. This will help add new vigor to age-old crafts, which will help make them more contemporary without losing focus of tradition.

This strategy has been devised with the long-term goal of making the handloom weaver an entrepreneur, through knowledge sharing and resource optimization.

This ceremony was held in the presence of Minister of Textile Smriti Irani, Minister of State for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy, inister of State for TextilesAjay Tamta, U.P Textile Minister Mahboob Ali, and Textile Secretary Rashmi Verma.

FDCI designers Rajesh Pratap Singh, Anju Modi, Rakesh Thakore, Rina Dhaka, Rahul Mishra, Abhishek Gupta, Samant Chauhan and Shruti Sancheti were also present for the function in Varanasi.