AMRITSAR: In a first of its kind initiative to boost the "Textile Industry" in the holy city considered once as the hub of this industry, a gala exhibition of Textile products, held here Thursday under a joint venture by the Ministry of Textiles and the Shawl Club (India) Amritsar.

Exhibition was addressed by Chief Guest V.K. Kohli, Regional Director. Ministry of Textiles along with Guest of Honor Dr SK Chaudhuri , Area Director, India & South East Asia , The Woolmark Company, New Delhi while Additional Deputy Commissioner Parneet Bhardwaj presided over the inaugural ceremony.

Piara Lal Seth President Shawl club (India) said that the local organization encompasses a whole range of manufactures of products including Blankets, Textile Fabric, Shawls, yarns etc.

On the occasion Kohli disclosed to the press that "This first "Buyer-Seller Meet" cum Exhibition was not only targeting opportunities nationwide but also the lucrative Global markets".

As many as 40 stalls exhibited their products to buyers from textile rich markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkatta and Surat besides from Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &Kashmir, and Haryana.

The meet aimed to present an opportunity to find solutions to global competition besides to thrash out issues of high cotton prices , rupee appreciation and consequent losses in export, absence of sufficient downstream integration projects in weaving & processing.

A number of overseas customers, domestic buyers and big buying houses participated and had a unique insight to open new areas of business prospects in this profitable domain.

Top textiles manufacturers including M/s. GTZ, Germany, M/s. Oswal Woollen Mills Ltd, M/s. Amritsar Swadeshi Corp. Pvt. Ltd, OCM India Ltd, Apollo Shawls, MTM, Kotcher Sang-up Acrylic Ltd, Alliance Overseas Pvt .Ltd, etc participated.

The local manufactures took the opportunity to request the union ministry to establish a "permanent textile exhibition centre" in city besides making the exhibition an annual feature.

They also urged for regular dissemination of information regarding various development schemes by government and their active and hassle free implementation.

These schemes include Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (STTP), Group Workshed Scheme (GWS), Group Insurance Scheme (GIS) for powerloom workers at low a premiums besides revival of Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS), that provides subsidy on loans to set up modern textile machinery and its Upgradation.