Minister for Agriculture, Handlooms and Textiles Tummala Nageswara Rao said that a sanitary napkin-making unit would be established by the Telangana State Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society (TSCO) for distribution in schools and colleges.
At a review meeting held here on Friday with officials of Industries, Agriculture, Marketing, Handlooms and Textiles departments, he wanted the authorities to set up food processing units in every district to minimise loss by making use of soaked grain due to untimely rain by using the damaged grain for bio-manure and bio-mass too.
Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, Managing Director of Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd E. Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, Director Handlooms and Textiles Alagu Varshini V.S., Director Horticulture K. Ashok Reddy, Director of Agricultural Marketing G. Lakshmi Bai, and Director of Industries G.S. Malsur, attended the meeting.
The Minister instructed the authorities to arrange solar panels on the storage facilities (godowns) of the marketing department as well as the State Warehousing Corporation by making an agreement with the Discoms so that they could make revenue by supplying energy generated in addition to their needs.
He told them to chalk out plans to develop the Koheda fruit market as a centre for fruit exports. The development of the Khammam agricultural market and textile park at Buggapadu was also discussed. As part of the rice milling policy, new rice mills would be established to help the farming community.
On the orders for fabric from government departments, he said TSCO had received orders worth ₹255 crore from March 11 this year and more were expected. The government department could buy fabric from private companies through tenders only after securing non-availability certificate from TSCO.
He said that weavers were getting orders for 5.7 crore metre length of fabric, including Bathukamma sarees every year, and this year orders were already received for 2.5 crore metre length of fabric excluding Bathukamma sarees. Orders for another 80 lakh metre fabric were also expected.
Quality of handloom products would be improved with modernisation of units with ₹350 crore, the Minister said adding that instructions were also given to prepare proposal for power subsidy to power looms.
