Giriraj Singh will inaugurate the Centre of Excellence for Handloom Technology on August 3, accompanied by multiple initiatives aimed at modernizing and strengthening India's handloom sector.
The Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Giriraj Singh, is scheduled to inaugurate the Centre of Excellence for Handloom Technology (CoE-HT) at IIT Delhi on August 3, 2026. The event will also see the attendance of Union Minister of State for Textiles Shri Pabitra Margherita, Secretary Textiles Smt. Neelam Shami Rao, Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Dr. M. Beena, and other senior officials from both the Ministry of Textiles and IIT Delhi.
The Centre, established with a Government of India investment of ₹11.99 crore, aims to integrate India's rich handloom heritage with cutting-edge research, innovation, and digital technologies to strengthen the sector's competitiveness, sustainability, and global outreach. Over the next five years, it will develop a national digital repository of handloom knowledge, create AI-enabled tools, develop improved loom technologies, facilitate patents and research, incubate startups, and train weavers, faculty members, and handloom professionals across the country.
In addition to inaugurating the Centre, Giriraj Singh will also launch five flagship initiatives aimed at modernizing and strengthening India's handloom sector. These initiatives include a digital companion for every loom, a problem-linked digital learning platform, an accelerator and incubation platform, Kalagriha Handloom Studio (GenZ Design Studio), and an initiative promoting circularity by transforming recycled defence textiles into premium handloom products.
India's handloom sector supports over 35 lakh weavers and allied workers, with women constituting nearly 70 per cent of the workforce. These initiatives are intended to address challenges faced by the sector such as productivity, technology adoption, traceability, authenticity, sustainability, and market competitiveness.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
