 "khadi, clothes, garment")
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) will sell 'Made-in-Varanasi' Pashmina products through its showrooms, outlets and online portal, an official statement said on Friday.
"This is for the first time that Pashmina products are being produced outside the region of Leh-Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir," the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises stated.
The premium Pashmina products prepared by the highly skilled Khadi weavers of Varanasi were launched by KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena in Varanasi.
"KVIC will be selling the 'Made-in-Varanasi' Pashmina products through its showrooms, outlets and through its online portal," the statement said.
Pashmina is famed as an essential Kashmiri art form but rediscovery of Pashmina in Varanasi, the spiritual and cultural capital of India, is unique in many ways, the ministry said.
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"The production of Pashmina prepared in Varanasi liberates this heritage art from the regional confines and creates a fusion of diverse artistry from Leh-Ladakh, Delhi and Varanasi," it added.
The first two Pashmina shawls produced by the weavers in Varanasi were presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Saxena on 4 March, before the formal launch of these products in Varanasi.
KVIC chairman said Pashmina production in Varanasi alone would add nearly Rs 25 crore to Khadi's turnover in the city.
As compared to Rs 800 wages for weaving a normal woollen shawl, Pashmina weavers in Varanasi are paid wages of Rs 1,300.
"Pashmina weaving in Varanasi would ensure round-the-year livelihood to women artisans in Leh-Ladakh where spinning activities are suspended for nearly half the year due to the extreme cold. To facilitate this, KVIC has also set up a Pashmina wool processing unit in Leh," the statement added.
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