An Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) has been proposed at Shantipur – Nadia in West Bengal in the central sector under XII five year plan. It is because of the number of weavers, production of handloom items and requirement of trained and qualified manpower for handloom industry are the main criteria to establish IIHTs at a particular location.
There are five central IIHT’s located at Varanasi – Uttar Pradesh, Salem – Tamil Nadu, Jodhpur – Rajasthan, Guwahati – Assam and Bargarh -Orissa. Some state governments have also set up IIHT’s with partial support from central government. This includes Shri Pragada Kotaiah Memorial Indian Institute of Handloom Technology Venkatagiri – Andhra Pradesh, IIHT Kannur – Kerala, Karnataka Handloom Technology Institute Gadag-Betagiri -Karnataka, IIHT Champa – Chhattisgarh.
Handloom industry in India uses labour intensive techniques. The total number of people currently employed in this sector/industry is 43.32 lakhs as per the census of 2009-10.
National Institute of Fashion Technology is an apex training institution and does not participate in the Integrated Skill Development Scheme administered by the Ministry of Textiles, in imparting basic skills training to unemployed textiles workers. The NIFT Establishes its campus under section 7 (2) (b) of the NIFT Act, 2006, according to which the Board of the Institute has power to Establish NIFT Campus. Indian Institute of Handloom Technology provides infrastructure back up in the vital areas of applied research, service and training.
Speak Your Mind