India’s textiles ministry has released Rs.20 crore for setting up the country’s first centre of excellence for researching and producing natural fibre from plants of the Himalayan region in Almora. It will be set up through the Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Uttarakhand state has transferred an acre to the ministry for that purpose. The plants include natal (kandali), bhang, bhimal, ramban and bhabar grass found in Uttarakhand, according to a report in a news website focussed on Uttarakhand. In Uttarakhand, more than 95 per cent of the vegetation generates fibre.
