EPCH, Wildlife Institute of India jointly set up Pashmina Certification Centre
New Delhi – 19th May, 2023 – In order to facilitate development, promotion and marketing of pashmina products, the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has set up a Pashmina Certification Centre a dedicated facility for Pashmina test/certification at Dehradun to provide authentic and accredited certification services to the Pashmina exporters in a time-bound manner and to enable them to meet the compliances in domestic and international market.
Today, Bhupender Yadav, Hon’ble Union Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Labour & Employment inaugurated the Pashmina Certification Centre at Dehradun in presence of Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Hon’ble Minister of State for Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Former Cabinet Minister. Also present on the occasion were Chandra Prakash Goyal, Director General of Forest & Special Secretary, MoEF&CC; Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman-EPCH; Satya Prakash Yadav, ADG, MoEF&CC; Bivash Ranjan, ADG (WL), MoEF&CC; Virendra R. Tiwari, Director, WII, A. S. Rawat, Director General, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE); R. K. Verma, Executive Director – EPCH; Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist-G, Dean & Registrar, WII; Dr. S.K. Gupta, Scientist-F & Nodal Officer, Wildlife Forensic and Conservation Genetics (WFCG) Cell, WII; Rajesh Rawat, Addl. Executive Director – EPCH and member exporters from the region.
Speaking on the occasion, Raj Kumar Malhotra, Chairman-EPCH said Pashmina is an important segment of the handicrafts sector and we are committed towards promoting and supporting it. The Pashmina Certification Centre is a significant step towards ensuring that Pashmina products are of the highest international quality and standards. This centre will play a crucial role in promoting the Pashmina industry in India and globally.
He further expressed his gratitude towards MoEFCC for their support and collaborative efforts through WII in establishing the Pashmina Certification Centre. He highlighted the significance of this facility in bolstering consumer confidence, promoting sustainable practices, and ensuring a thriving future for the Pashmina industry. He also added, through this centre accredited testing and certification services will be provided to pashmina exporters within reasonable timeframes to meet their buyer requirements in overseas and international market.
R. K. Verma, Executive Director – EPCH informed that The Pashmina Certification Centre is a crucial initiative to promote Pashmina and ensure that consumers receive high-quality and authentic products. We are grateful to the Wildlife Institute of India for their partnership and support in setting up this centre. He further added, this centre will benefit the entire Pashmina value chain, including artisans, manufacturers, and exporters. The centre is equipped with modern testing equipment’s.
Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts is a nodal agency for promotion of exports of handicrafts from the Country and create brand image of magic of the gifted hands of millions and millions of artisans and craftspersons engaged in production of home, lifestyle, textiles, furniture and fashion jewellery & accessories products in different craft clusters of the Country. The Handicrafts exports during the year 2022-23 was Rs. 29426.38 Crores and US $ 3583.52 Million, informed R. K. Verma, Executive Director – EPCH.
