New Delhi :  Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minster of states for Textiles (Independent Charge), Govt of India inaugurated the Silk Fab exhibition today at Constitution Club, Behind RBI, Rafi Marg, New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Gangwar said that the exhibition enables an interface between the weavers and consumers. Silk Fab exhibition is an initiative of the office of Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India through National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) Ltd. to provide direct access to the handloom weavers to market their products to consumers in various cities of India. The participants are from various State Government Bodies/ Apex Societies, Primary Handloom Weavers Co-operative Societies and Handloom Agencies. 85 agencies belonging to 15 states are participating. The exhibition has the participation of four weavers who are recipients of National Award for design.

The handloom sector of India employs 65 lac persons directly or indirectly which is next only to agricultural sector in the country. The art of handloom weaving has traditional values attached to it and each region has exquisite varieties. The uniqueness of silk products such as Pochampalli, Paithani, Kanjivaram, Banarasi, Jamdani, Baluchari, and Ikkat, to name a few attracts customers across the globe with exclusives weaves, designs and traditional motifs. Through these exhibitions, handloom agencies not only market their products at reasonable rates but also get to know customers’ choice with regard to colour, design and weaving for future improvement of the product.

Government of India has launched the “Handloom Mark” scheme for handloom products and “Silk Mark” for genuinity of silk products, to encourage and give a distinct identity to the products, apart from highlighting the uniqueness of the products. It also serves a guarantee for the buyer that the product being purchased is genuinely handwoven. All the exhibitors at the Silk Fab have been encouraged to display the ‘Handloom Mark’ and ‘Silk Mark’ tag on the products and thus aim to improve the earnings of the handloom weaver community.

The exhibition will be open to public from 11 am to 8 pm for two weeks upto November 2, 2014. The Primary Handloom Weavers Co-operative Societies are recommended by their respective State Governments.

Silk Products drawn from some of the exotic locations of India are on display and sale at the exhibition.