Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated the first and biggest mechanized textile unit of the state at Industrial Estate in Pasighat, East Siang district on Friday operated by ELAM industries, employing over 100 people. The Chief Minister termed it as ‘Pride of Arunachal’ and a pioneering step in the textile industry sector considering its scale. The textile industry will create immense employment opportunities for the artisans and youths of the state.

At the inauguration, the CM assured that the state government would promote and support the growth of the industries in the state and in this direction the state government is in the process of formulating Investor Friendly Industrial Policy, as the state has immense potential for various industries including textile promotion.

Earlier the Chief Minister also visited the Elam power loom and handloom unit, which is the state's first mechanised textile factory.

Responding to a memorandum submitted by proprietor of Elam industries, Mohanto Pangging a former fighter pilot in Indian Air Force (IAF), the Chief Minister said that NITI Aayog will be soon revisiting the North East Industrial Policy. He assured that the bottlenecks faced by the industry in terms of irregular and insufficient power supply will be addressed, also the state government is always ready to support the local industries as Arunachal has immense scope for industrialisation.

For sustenance of local industries, the Chief Minister assured to accord public procurement preferences for goods produced in the local factories. He promised to have discussion with the education department for procurement of school uniform produced by the Elam industries and appealed all the owners of the private schools to procure locally produced school uniform. As gesture of support, the Chief Minister assured to purchase school uniforms from Elam Industries for Tawang Public School, a school run by him in Tawang.

The Elam Apparel and Garment Industry is housed in the Apparel and Garment Making Centre/ Manufacturing Centre created under North East Region Textiles Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) here at 2-Mile which is manufacturing all kinds of readymade garments including school uniforms and also committed to promote the local textiles/fabrics and ecofriendly garments and fabrics.

The CM said that both the central and state governments need to support local industries with preferential buying and pricing policies and incentives like freight subsidy and capital subsidy. The Northeast Industrial Investment Promotion Policy, which supported industries in the region and was suspended, needs to be revived.

There are not many industries in the Northeast and in Arunachal in particular. Setting up of manufacturing industries in the Northeast will reduce this dependence on other states, provide employment to residents and contribute to development of the region.

The proprietor of the industry, Group Captain Mohonto Panging (retd) said that he was very happy with the inauguration of ELAM Industries. Arunachal has officially joined the industries map of India.

He said that the apparel and garment unit can manufacture clothes at lower costs. It also operates the first mechanised textile factory (power loom/handloom) of the state. The industry now produces 1,000 shirts or 2,000 t-shirts every day.

The event also witnessed a fashion show where the school and college children walked the ramp wearing various designer outfits designed by a local fashion designer showcasing the locally manufactured garments produced from the Elam industries.