The state government has approved Rs 85 crore in the first phase for production of 1.30 crore metre of Handloom cloth by State Industries to offer uniform free of cost to the government aided school students of class one to eight. Announcing this, new Industries Minister AC Moideen said that the initiative is part of LDF led state government target set in Budget 2016-17.
Two sets of school uniforms will be offered free of cost to the students, the Minister said. In the first phase, students from class 1 to 5 will be offered free uniforms from the new academic year and then from the next year for students till class eight.
The traditional sector industry of Kerala will be revived and all the employees will be ensured 300 days work and for that the production of handloom for school uniforms will begin from December first week, he said. For that, the 5000 weavers and traditional spinning mills will be functional to produce 1.30 crore metre cloths.
For timely completion of the project, a state level monitoring committee led by Industries additional chief secretary as chairman and handloom director as convenor will function. In addition, district industries as the nodal office will monitor at the district level. The employees in the handloom sector will get their salary through bank accounts and this traditional sector which is the backbone of the state will be protected, the Minister said.
Source: Times of India
