Orissa will soon have a centre of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) for which the state government has agreed to provide all necessary infrastructure facilities including land free of cost. The NIFT branch will come up at Bhubaneswar at a cost of Rs 58.65 crore, said Union minister of state for textiles Panabaaka Lakshmi in response to a question by Renubala Pradhan, MP.
The NIFT board of governors recently gave its nod for establishment of two more centers of this prestigious institute at Bhubaneswar and Jodhpur in Rajasthan
Meanwhile, the state government has identified 11 acres of land at Chandrasekharpur in the city for construction of the institute campus. If all go well, the NIFT, Bhubaneswar branch will start functioning from the next year, sources said.
NIFT was established in 1986 with an objective to impart training to the students in fashion designing, garment manufacturing and apparel marketing etc. At present, it has 13 centers operating at various parts of the country including metros like New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Since the state government has conveyed to extend all cooperation and provide necessary infrastructure facilities including land, the Rajya Sabha member urged the Union minister to expedite work on the project.
The new center is expected to launch the career of many aspiring youths in the field of fashion technology and apparel manufacturing. It may also stem the migration of workers from the state to places like Surat to work in textile mills there.
