Suresh Prabhu addressing gatherings in States while dedicating projects to the Nation

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, dedicated to the Nation 1000 crore worth of projects of the Commerce & Industry Ministry through video conference in New Delhi today.The projects were inaugurated in 7 States and 2 Union Territories across the country.

Commerce Minister inaugurated skilling Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Udupi, Karnataka and laid the foundation stone on CFC in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Commerce Minister inaugurated two spices parks in Kota, Rajasthan and Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh. He also inaugurated National Institute of Design (NID) campus in Jorhat, Assam and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. IIFT campus was inaugurated at Kolkata, West Bengal and Maidangarhi near Delhi and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) in Banur, Chandigarh.

Suresh Prabhu said that the CFC in Udupi for traditional jewellery manufacture in South India will be able to produce world class talent in gem and jewellery businessfor around 1200 jewellery units in an around Udupi. The CFC in Udupi has been established by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC).

The Coimbatore CFC has the capacity to train 50, 000 people in the unique jewellery manufacture like Kundan, Meenakari, Bidri, temple jewellery, filigree and Jadau jewellery. The gem and jewellery business in India is a USD 42 billion industry employing over 5 million people and it contributes 7 % of India’s total GDP. India is the largest diamond cutting and polishing centre in the world and 14 out of 15 diamonds set in jewellery worldwide are processed in India. India is the 5^th largest jewellery exporter in the world.

The Minister said that establishment of spices parks is a major initiative of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, to help farmers to get better returns for their produce and to ensure the quality of spices for exports. The elimination of intermediaries in the supply chain due to direct linkages facilitated by the parks will ensure better prices for the farmers informed by the Minister.

India is the largest producer and exporter of spices in the world. India produces more than 65 spices out of the 109 spices listed by ISO. Currently, India is holding significant share of 48 % in quantity and 43 %in value of the global spice trade. At present there is need for improved linkages between spice producers, processes and food processing industry and the spices parks will function as a nodal point for development of the spices industry. The parks will provide common infrastructure facilities for both post-harvest and processing operation of spices. The parks will facilitate both forward and backward integration. Both the spices parks have facilities for cleaning, grading and packing at par with international standards.  

Suresh Prabhu said that for India to transform itselfto a confident and prosperous nation the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is working tirelessly to improve skilling in various sectors so that India becomes a part of global value and supply chains. Design today is an integral part of any product and for the multitude of superior handmadeproductsfashioned by India’s artisan’s designs of international standards will be a game changer for them. He further said that the NID campus in Jorhat, Assam, will now open up the world to the highly skilled artisans especially women who produce high quality handmade products in the North East region of the country.

While inaugurating the IIFT campus in Kolkata and Bhopal Commerce Minister said that for India to remain in a leading position there is an urgent need to reshape our education landscape and to prepare a new generation that will be capable of rising to the challenges of a rapidly changing world and also remain competitive globally.

The IIFT campus in Kolkata offers full time MBA course with specific focus on international business actives leading to policy inputs, research activities, teaching and training for the development of eastern and north-eastern region. The campus has recently set up a centre for North Eastern studies.

The Banur, FDDI. campus at Chandigarh has been established with the total expenditure of 100 crores funded by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. This is one of the 12 campuses of FDDI in the country. The campus has state of the art centres for imparting quality education in footwear technology and management, fashion design, leather goods and accessories design and manufacturing and retail management. The campus is equipped with state of the art infrastructure, world class laboratories and Wi-Fi.

Suresh Prabhu hoped that the FDI campus at Banur will add value to the life of the youth of Punjab and also of the surrounding states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand. The Minister further stated that the leather package of ₹ 2600 crore announced by the centre earlier is helping FDDI in major infrastructural and capacity augmentation in order to bring world class infrastructure and skills development to its campuses and turn them into Centres of Excellence (CoE).

Skilling and infrastructure initiatives to boost export competitiveness and integrate producers into global value chains. Central ministry projects focus on skilling, design and trade education, and sectoral common infrastructure for export promotion. Initiatives include Common Facility Centres for jewellery, spices parks with post harvest processing and packing facilities, and expanded campuses for design, international business and footwear technology. These measures provide forward and backward linkages, eliminate intermediaries in supply chains, and aim to raise quality to international standards while building regional capacity and Centres of Excellence through central funding.