Textiles Min to launch Pashmina Promotion Programme tomorrow

Union Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar will launch the Pashmina Promotion Programme (P 3) and lay the foundation stone of a Pashmina Dehairing Plant at Leh, Ladakh tomorrow, seeking to develop crafts of Jammu and Kashmir.
Under P-3, a major provision has been made for the establishment of latest technology imported Pashmina Dehairing Plant at Leh with a total grant of Rs 19.35 crore including other machineries like Scouring, Drying, and boiler along with construction of building for installation of these machineries at Leh.
The existing Dehairing Plant has obsolete Chinese dehairing machine and is not sufficient to de-hair 45 tonne of Pashmina wool produced in Ladakh. With present capacity, the plant can only de-hair up to five tonne pashmina, leaving 40 tonne sold into the market as raw which renders loss of value addition of Pashmina.

The capacity of the proposed new imported plant would be 10 kg Pashmina per hour with approximate cost of Rs 11 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Leh August 12, 2014 had announced Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) with additional financial assistance of Rs 30 crore for improving quality and quantity of Pashmina wool and living standard of poor nomads (wool growers) of Ladakh region.
Under this new Programme, financial assistance would be provided under different components like Creation of Common Pashmina Facilitation Centre for Wool testing, Disease Surveillance Centre, Geographic Information System (GIS) Lab, Shelter for Nomads, Portable Electric Units for Handloom Spinning/Weaving, Solarised Community Centres, Open Fodder enclosures, establishment of Pashmina Dehairing Plant, Distribution for Foundation Stock to farmers and construction of Shelter for Housing of Pashmina Stock.

The Ministry of Textiles is implementing Pashmina Wool Development Scheme with the help of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh from 10th Five Year Plan for development of this Sector in Ladakh region. In the 12th Plan, this programme has been expanded with enhanced financial assistance of Rs 41.21 crore.

Ladakh region produces the finest Pashmina wool (specialty fiber) in the world, which has high demand globally. Ladakh region grow about 45 tonne of Pashmina wool every year from the population of about 2.50 lakh Pashmina goats.
Pashmina shawls are famous throughout the world and exported to various countries. They are hand spun, woven and embroidered in Nepal and Kashmir, and made from fine cashmere fibre.

Pashmina is a type of fine cashmere wool. The textiles made from Pashmina were first woven in India. The name comes from Pashmineh, which in Persian means "made from wool".