Srinagar: Secretary in Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Upendra Prasad Singh visited the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Budgam campus.
A statement of NIFT Budgam issued here said that the secretary took a detailed review of the construction process of campus and the expansion of academic programmes.
However, he expressed concern over the slow pace of work on the under-construction buildings and asked the engineers of the SIDCO – the executing agency of the project – to expedite the construction and hand over all the under-construction buildings by next year.
During the meeting, the SIDCO engineers ensured the secretary that most of the buildings would be handed over to the NIFT management by October and November this year while the left-out buildings would be handed over by June next year.
After inspecting the academic block, the secretary also inquired about the status of the construction on the residential blocks and hostels. He impressed upon the executing agency to complete the construction of residential blocks, particularly the boys’ hostel at the earliest.
The secretary also directed the SIDCO engineers to have a special focus on the NIFT and prioritise the completion of the under-construction building in the shortest possible time.
Later, he interacted with the teaching and non-teaching staff of the NIFT and took feedback about the faculty strength, curriculum, and several courses introduced at the institute.
During his interaction with the students, the secretary asked them to make the best use of the facilities being set up at the NIFT Budgam campus.
He said that the Budgam campus was one of the best emerging campuses in the country.
“In future, the campus will launch six more programmes in a phased manner. Further, the campus will also focus on promotion and development of crafts of J&K,” the secretary said.
Director NIFT Srinagar Javid Ahmad Wani thanked the secretary for his continuous support and guidance in setting up the NIFT Srinagar campus.
He said that the NIFT Srinagar campus would soon be enlisted in top-ranking fashion schools in the country.