OREANDA-NEWS. May 20, 2015. The foundation stone for an Apparel and Garment Making Centre at Paschim Borgaon, Guwahati was laid by Shri Tarun Gogoi, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam and Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Hon'ble Minister of State for Textiles (I/C), Government of India.

Addressing the gathering, the Union Textiles Minister said that Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given special attention to the Ministry of Textiles, with special focus on states in the North Eastern Region. The Apparel and Garment Making Centres are being opened in every state in the region, as part of the landmark initiative announced by the PM in Nagaland, on 1st December, 2014. Work on such a Centre for Nagaland has already begun, after the foundation stone was laid by the Union Textiles Minister, on 24th February, 2015. The Minister laid the foundation stone for an Apparel and Garment Making Centre in Manipur on 24th March, 2015, in Sikkim on 25th March, 2015, and in Arunachal Pradesh on 16th April, 2015. He thanked the state government of Assam for responding positively and for promptly providing the required land for the project.
In his address, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Assam said that geotextiles will be very useful for Assam. Assuring the support of the state, the CM said that this initiative is a very good beginning.

Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Dr. S. K. Panda said that the garment making Centre will provide employment to the youths of Assam. The project will be completed in three months by M/s. NBCC; the total cost of the project would be Rs. 18 crore, fully funded by Government of India. He said that this project will be helpful in skill upgradation, garment development and marketing. The Secretary added that a scheme, worth Rs.427 crore, has been sanctioned to promote geotechnical textiles in the North East, which will be helpful in stabilizing roads, addressing the problem of landslides and preserving water bodies. Other major projects sanctioned are SITP and ISDS.

Smt. Bismita Gogoi, Hon'ble Minister of State (I/C), Handloom, Textile & Sericuture and Cultural Affairs, Assam; Smt. Ajanta Neog, Hon'ble Minister, PWD, Assam; Shri J. Khosla, Chief Secretary, Assam and Mr. Dilip Borthakur, Commissioner & Secretary Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture, Assam were also present on the occasion.

Background
Each Apparel and Garment Making Centre set up under the initiative is estimated to generate direct employment for 1,200 people.
Each state will have one centre with three units, each having 100 machines. For local entrepreneurs with requisite background, required facilities to start a unit will be provided in ‘plug and play’ mode. Once such entrepreneurs get established, they can set up their own units, allowing the facility to be provided to new entrepreneurs.

The initiative comes under the North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) of the Ministry of Textiles. NERTPS is an umbrella scheme for the development of various segments of textiles, i.e. silk, handlooms, handicrafts and apparels & garments. The scheme has a total outlay of Rs. 1038.10 crore in the 12th Five Year Plan.