The Minister of Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture of Assam government Ranjit Dutta inaugurated the Silk Mark Expo on Wednesday in Guwahati.
The five-day expo is held at the NEDFi House. Silk Mark Organization of India (SMOI) organized the expo and Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles sponsored it.
The state government will set up a yarn bank in Sualkuchi, where the raw materials will be available at market price with 20 per cent subsidy and the local weavers will benefit from this.
The yarn bank will be inaugurated on September 15 by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, informed Ranjit Dutta.
In his speech, Dutta said that in order to ensure that Silk Mark gains further credibility and popularity, it is necessary to create enough publicity and awareness among the consumers to buy only Silk Mark-labelled silk products.
At the inaugural programme, Mamta B Sharma, executive, SMOI, Guwahati Chapter, said that the event is an ideal platform not only to popularise Silk Mark labels and provide valuable linkages to all the stakeholders in the silk industry, but also to encourage the local entrepreneurs to start business in silk.
During the expo, silk products will be showcased by 44 Silk Mark members and authorized users from across the country. ‘Vanya’ silk such as muga, eri, tasar, etc., will also be showcased to generate awareness about the new possibilities of ‘Vanya’ silk product development.