GUWAHATI, Sept 5 - The Government of Assam 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, Minister of Handloom, Textiles and Sericulture Ranjit Dutta said.
Dutta made the announcement while inaugurating a five-day Silk Mark Expo being organised by the Silk Mark Organisation of India (SMOI) and sponsored by the Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, at NEDFi House here today.
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 five-day expo, silk products will be showcased by 44 Silk Mark members and authorised 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, a statement said.
The Silk Mark Organisation of India is an initiative of the Central Silk Board and has been working for protecting the interests of the sericulture farmers, weavers, entrepreneurs, designers on one hand and the consumers on the other. It also ensures safeguarding the purity of silk in the silk industry through the introduction of Silk Mark labels.