ITANAGAR, June 14 - In line with the Prime Minister�s �Atmanirbhar Bharat� and �Vocal for Local� initiative, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu today directed the State�s Textiles and Handicrafts Department to finalise the modalities to procure items from local artisans, entrepreneurs, NGOs, self-help groups to meet all requirements of Government offices.
Chairing a meeting with the officials concerned at his office here recently, Khandu said the process must be completed within a fixed timeframe and assured all support to the department in this endeavour.
�All requirements of government establishments will be procured from local producers only through the Textiles and Handicrafts Department. This will not only boost our self-sustainability but also benefit our local producers, who at the moment are suffering due to want of markets to sell their products,� the Chief Minister said.
While appreciating the department�s initiative of producing face masks from eri silk based on traditional tribal designs for distribution among healthcare workers, police personnel, Khandu said if these are produced in mass scale with standard quality check, the designer masks can garner a big market even outside the State.
He said it was time for the department to ramp up its activities and focus mainly on tying up with local producers and start offering products to buyers, starting with all State Government establishments.
Khandu suggested that while framing the guidelines, a provision needs to be kept that requirements of a district should be met up from producers of that particular district so that everybody gets equal opportunity to benefit from the initiative. He also suggested that the department should upgrade its web portal with a new window for accepting orders online.
