Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday inaugurated the two-day annual Youth Festival of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) "SPECTRUM-24" at NIFT campus Ompora Budgam.

In his address, the Lt Governor congratulated the NIFT Srinagar for providing opportunities to the students of educational institutions of Kashmir Valley to explore their hidden talents in performing arts, sports, fashion shows and literary programs.

“Our youth power is building a prosperous future of J&K. Youth are our biggest strength and they are committed to take the UT to greater heights”, he said.

He said the two-day festival is also an opportunity for Youth to exchange innovative and creative ideas for promoting our rich cultural and artistic heritage.

The Lt Governor commended the contribution of NIFT Srinagar in the area of design development and positioning of handlooms and handicrafts and providing new career avenues to the aspiring youth of J&K in Fashion, Design and Management.

“Our handloom and handicraft sector has undergone a major revolution in the last 4-5 years. Students of NIFT can play a decisive role in design development and positioning of handloom and handicraft products,” he observed.

He advised the students to get themselves acquainted with precious handicraft tradition of Jammu Kashmir so that they can assist the Handicrafts Department in brand positioning and to incubate new ideas in different product categories.

The Lt Governor also talked about the policy reforms introduced by J&K administration to transform the handicraft and handloom sector.

“In June 2023, the administration notified 32 new crafts and at present the total number of registered crafts has increased to 60. It is also being ensured that every handicraft artist and weaver gets the benefit of GI certification, testing, labelling and training,” he said.

Sinha called upon NIFT students and faculty members to support artisans in brand positioning, product designing and packaging.

He also highlighted the important role of academic institutions in establishing India as a Knowledge economy.

“The higher education sector in J&K is going through reformative changes. Institutions like NIFT should also make the necessary reforms, aligned with NEP 2020, to meet the future needs of the market,” Sinha said.

This year’s NIFT Youth Festival has been organised under the theme of "Rangreza" in which more than 600 students will be participating in 24 events like Best out of Waste, Mural Art, Frame within the frame, Battle of Bands, Mental Marathon, Open Mic etc.

Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Vikramjit Singh, Commissioner Secretary, Industries & Commerce Department; Akshay Labroo, Deputy Commissioner Budgam; Dr. Javid Ahmad Wani, Director NIFT Srinagar, faculty members, student of NIFT and other participating institutions were present on the occasion.