Textiles Ministry to promote silk, handicrafts during CWG

The government will launch an aggressive campaign to promote Indian silk among sports persons, spectators and officials at the Commonwealth Games.

"We will start a high-decibel campaign a week before the mega sporting event here and this will continue till the Games are over," a textiles ministry official said.
    
The Commonwealth Games are taking place between October 3 to October 14, 2010, in Delhi.
    
Besides promotion of silk, the focus would be on handloom and handicrafts items.
    
During the campaign, a number of road shows and exhibitions would take place. Also, stalls would be set up showcasing dress materials, garments, scarves both in silk and handlooms, in malls, five-star hotels and near the airports, the official said.
    
Also, handicraft items, including art metalware, woodware and home decors, would be showcased. "We will target both the high-end and the low-end customers," he said.
    
The Textiles Ministry would allocate about Rs two crore from its budget for the campaign, he said.
     
The Games, which is expected to attract one lakh visitors, could be an ideal platform to launch the campaign to popularise Indian silk, the official said.
    
During 2009-10, silk exports slumped 9 per cent to Rs 2871.79 crore over the year-ago period.