NIFT Campus Planned in Amaravati: Savita
The government has also entered into marketing partnerships with leading organisations, including TTD, to expand sales of handloom products
VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government will establish a campus of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) on 10 acres at Sakhamuru in Amaravati and open Lepakshi handicrafts showrooms overseas as part of a comprehensive strategy to revive the handloom, textile and handicrafts sectors, handlooms and textiles minister S. Savita announced on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference at the state Secretariat on the completion of two years of the NDA coalition government, the minister said ensuring a dignified and economically secure life for weavers and artisans remained a key objective of the government. She also announced the forthcoming launch of the Netanna Bharosa scheme.
Savita said the government had introduced the Textiles, Apparel and Garments Policy 2024–29, targeting investments of `10,000 crore and employment generation for more than two lakh people. Five agreements signed during the CII Summit in Visakhapatnam have already brought investments worth `4,700 crore, she said.
Highlighting welfare measures, the minister said free power was being provided to 50,565 weaving families from April 1 this year, with 200 units for handloom weavers and 500 units for powerloom workers. The `150-crore scheme was reducing production costs and improving household incomes.
She said yarn worth `246.41 crore had been supplied to handloom societies during the past two years, while pensions were being extended to weavers above the age of 50. Ten mini handloom clusters worth `10.44 crore and a mega cluster at Dharmavaram costing `38.31 crore are being developed.
Handloom parks are also being established at Uppada and Mangalagiri, while a Handloom and Handicrafts Museum is planned in Amaravati.
More than 7,000 weavers have received Mudra loans worth `65.35 crore. The government has also entered into marketing partnerships with leading organisations, including TTD, to expand sales of handloom products.
Savita said APCO had undergone extensive digitisation, earning the SKOCH Award 2025. APCO recorded sales of `190 crore during the past 24 months and opened five new showrooms across the state.
The minister said 2.05 lakh handicraft artisans had been identified and supported through marketing initiatives, exhibitions and sales platforms. Lepakshi, which operates 19 showrooms, is being modernised, with a new outlet opened at Rajahmundry Airport and overseas expansion planned. Handicraft sales exceeded ₹117 crore during the past two years.
Through the Khadi and Village Industries Board, the government facilitated employment for more than 10,700 people during 2024–25 under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and expects to generate jobs for another 25,500 people through 2,319 new units sanctioned for 2025–26.