Efforts will be made to increase Pashmina wool production to 65 tonnes by FY'2017, Union Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar today said.
The Minister launched the Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) and laid the foundation stone of a Pashmina Dehairing Plant here.
Gangwar assured to implement the Pashmina Promotion Programme successfully in a time-bound manner and increase pashmina wool production up to 65 tonnes by the end of 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17).
He announced that the Ministry will introduce a programme for value addition of dehaired Pashmina in Leh itself in consultation with Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council.
Under P-3, a major provision has been made for the establishment of latest technology imported Pashmina Dehairing Plant at Leh with a total grant of Rs 19.35 crore including other machineries like Scouring, Drying, and boiler along with construction of building for installation of these machineries at Leh.
The existing Dehairing Plant has obsolete Chinese dehairing machine and is not sufficient to de-hair 45 tonnes of Pashmina wool produced in Ladakh. With present capacity, the plant can only de-hair up to five tonne pashmina, leaving 40 tonnes sold into the market as raw which renders loss of value addition of Pashmina.
The capacity of the proposed new imported plant would be 10 kg Pashmina per hour with approximate cost of Rs 11 crore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Leh August 12, 2014 had announced Pashmina Promotion Programme (P-3) with additional financial assistance of Rs 30 crore for improving quality and quantity of Pashmina wool and living standard of poor nomads (wool growers) of Ladakh region.
The Ministry of Textiles is implementing Pashmina Wool Development Scheme with the help of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh from 10th Five Year Plan for development of this Sector in Ladakh region. In the 12th Plan, this programme has been expanded with enhanced financial assistance of Rs 41.21 crore.
Ladakh region produces the finest Pashmina wool (specialty fiber) in the world, which has high demand globally. Ladakh region grow about 45 tonne of Pashmina wool every year from the population of about 2.50 lakh Pashmina goats.
Pashmina shawls are famous throughout the world and exported to various countries. They are hand spun, woven and embroidered in Nepal and Kashmir, and made from fine cashmere fibre.
Pashmina is a type of fine cashmere wool. The textiles made from Pashmina were first woven in India. The name comes from Pashmineh, which in Persian means "made from wool".
