The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) should strive to work towards a larger vision of improving the incomes of weavers and artisans in the country. Reviewing key consultancy and developmental projects currently being implemented by NIFT, the Minister for Textiles and Commerce and Industry said the National Sizing Survey of India and the VisioNxt-Trend Insight and Forecasting Lab could provide a big boost to the country’s apparel exports.
NIFT should expedite the progress in each project so that the desired outcomes reach the public and industries soon and should explore the possibility of converging some of the projects with similar existing projects at the review meeting held earlier this week.
Appreciating the craft cluster initiative, as part of which students undertake projects with artisans at the grassroots level, the minister said each NIFT student could adopt an artisan, which would go a long way in diversifying the products and improving both the quality and the processes of artisans.
NIFT is currently undertaking a National Sizing Survey, called INDIAsize, to address the disparities and inconsistencies in apparel sizing systems and fits. It is a pan-India exercise where anthropometric data is being collected using state-of-the-art 3D whole-body scanners, from male and female population of age above 15.
Another project aims to develop a national knowledge portal in the form of an integrated system that will lay down a framework to weave the past and present status of textiles, clothing and related crafts with a focus on futuristic developments. The portal will aggregate data and repositories, including the rich information sources available within the textiles ministry and its subordinate offices.
