The Department of Textiles of Meghalaya has received a special award under the Textiles Sustainability Awards from the Confederation of Indian Textile Industries (CITI). The Department of Textiles hosted the Bharat Tex 2025 Global Textiles Expo at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, and the recognition took place on the last day of the event. Pabitra Margherita, Union Minister of State for Textiles, presented the special prize at the CITI Textiles Sustainability Awards 2024–25 to Frederick Roy Kharkongor, principal secretary, Department of Textiles, Meghalaya.
The panel expressed great admiration for Meghalaya’s textile department’s outstanding efforts to revive its textile legacy. Through significant contributions to the industry, CITI—Alekh’s Textiles History Reviver award recognizes individuals and organizations for their efforts to drive the return of Indigenous textile history, promote sustainability, stimulate innovation, and empower communities.
To promote the state’s textile legacy, the Meghalayan textile department has been working on a number of important projects since 2019. Umden-Diwon hamlet in the Ri Bhoi district was formally recognized as the first Eri Silk village in Meghalaya in 2021. The department has been establishing the Ryndia brand and campaigning for a geographical indication (GI) label. Other measures include establishing the Eri Corner at Megh Tex, utilizing the Silk Samagra programme to assist Eri producers, and carrying out the Integrated Textile Tourism Project in Nongpoh. Additionally, an e-portal on Ryndia has been created to increase visibility.
The department supports training and capacity-building programs, handloom cluster programs, and design documentation through Woven Narratives in order to strengthen the sector. Prestigious domestic and international events, such as the Dubai Expo, International Sericulture Commission (ISC) Romana, Silk in Lyon, France 2022, G20 Craft Bazaar (Italy, Vietnam 2023), and Bharat Tex Global Expo 2024, have featured Indigenous weaves.
The department continues to encourage local production businesses, designers, and entrepreneurs by giving them opportunities to present their work. This has raised the profile of Meghalaya’s hand-spun, hand-woven, eco-friendly, naturally coloured, and ethically sourced weaves, which are women-driven and organically manufactured, completely representing the journey from thread to trend.
