The government of India plans to set up an Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) at Shantipur in West Bengal under the 12th Five Year Plan. Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles, Panabaaka Lakshmi has stated this in a written reply in the LokSabha.Other than the proposed IIHT at Shantipur, no new IIHT is currently proposed to be set up in the country, Lakshmi informed the Parliament.At present, there are five central Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) located at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Salem in Tamil Nadu, Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Guwahati in Assam and Bargarh in Orissa.
In addition to the central IIHTs, these institutes have also been set up in the state by the respective state governments with one time partial support of the Centre.IIHTs functioning in the state sector are IIHT Venkatagiri in Andhra Pradesh, IIHT Kannur in Kerala, IIHT Gadag-Betagiri in Karnataka, and IIHT Champa in Chhattisgarh.
Since handloom weaving constitutes one of the richest and most vibrant aspects of Indian cultural heritage, the Ministry of Textiles is currently making serious efforts to sustain and promote handloom sector in different parts of the country.
