With the textile ministry providing Rs.18 crore for setting up of a ready-made garment manufacturing unit or ‘Apparel and Garment Making Centre’ (AGMC) in each of the eight northeastern states. The North east's second readymade apparel manufacturing unit was inaugurated at western Tripura’s Bodhjungnagar industrial estate on Friday.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and union Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar inaugurated the readymade apparel manufacturing unit. At the inaugural ceremony Tripura Industries and Finance Minister Tapan Chakraborty, assembly Deputy Speaker Pabitra Kar, Chief Secretary Y.P.Singh, union Textiles Secretary Rashmi Verma and Industries and Commerce Secretary M.Nagaraju were also present.

The first Apparel and Garment Making Centre (AGMC) was inaugurated by Gangwar in Nagaland on Wednesday. Each AGMC would provide employment to 1,200 to 1,500 people in the respective states.

The Textile Ministry would also provide financial assistance to run the unit after its commissioning.

Gangwar said that the government is trying to stop people from northeast India to go to other parts of the country seeking jobs. The readymade apparel and various other clothing have huge market in northeast India, other parts of the country, neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Sarkar, in his speech, said that the Tripura government has enlarged the incentives to boost the small and medium industries in the state. Soft loans have been provided to self-help groups (SHGs) at the rate of 4 percent from the state government-owned Cooperative Bank. This rate of interest would be further slashed to 3.5 percent soon.

So far 8,000 SHGs become self-reliant and producing lots of attractive and useful products from benefits provided by the state government.