Four lakh to be skilled under Textile Ministry's Samarth scheme

Around four lakh people across 18 states will be skilled under 'Samarth', a scheme for capacity building and skilling in the textile sector, as part of agreements signed between the Centre and state governments.

Sixteen state governments signed MoUs with the Ministry of Textiles at a function here on Wednesday in the presence of Union Minister Smriti Irani to take Samarth - Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS) forward.

Eighteen states have agreed to partner with the ministry under the scheme. Representatives of Jammu & Kashmir and Odisha were not present during the function.

"Given the diligence that you (state government representatives) have shown by your mere presence here, that gives me hope that today 18 of us including Government of India have resolved only under this one roof to skill 4 lakh people which I think is the first such big step ever in the history of our country," the textile minister said.

The 18 states include Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Karnataka, Odisha, Manipur, Haryana, Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

After the training, employment will be provided to all these beneficiaries in various textile-related activities. The programme covers the entire value chain of textile sector except spinning and weaving.

The textile-related segments for which skill development will be provided towards capacity building include apparel and garmenting, knitting, metal handicraft, textile and handloom, handicraft and carpet, among others.

"It has been the endeavour of the prime minister that for a new India we ensure that each and every citizen who seeks resources for sustenance is skilled and it is this endeavour in the sector of textiles that SAMARTH took shape," Irani said.

However, she observed that Tamil Nadu, especially the Tirupur cluster desires more skilling opportunities.

The number of beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu is estimated at 1,400 covering the textiles and handloom segment.

Highlighting that 75 per cent of those who work in textile sector are women, Irani said in the MUDRA scheme also it has been seen that 70 per cent of the beneficiaries are women, suggesting the state representatives to look at district-wise tailoring opportunities for women as part of the outreach for skilling across states.

She further added that Northeastern states must focus on silk and jute sector and review the targets of skilling under Samarth scheme.

Textile Secretary Ravi Capoor in his address said India is a very small player in the global market and there is huge potential of employment generation in the textile sector. He informed that there is a gap of 16 lakh trained skilled workers in textile industry.

The Samarth scheme targets to train 10 lakh people over a period of three years (2017-20) with an estimated budget of Rs 1,300 crore.