New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is in Pahalgam, on Monday directed the authorities to set up testing facilities at Srinagar and Delhi airports for Kashmiri shawls, a move aimed at promoting exports of the product.

He also proposed setting up a carpet village that will act as a demonstration centre of the local craft to visiting tourists and promote the local carpet industry.

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The minister is on a two-day visit in the Union territory.

Goyal also met a delegation of industrialists from the Valley who apprised the minister of local issues being faced by them.

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He discussed issues including bottlenecks in the export of Kashmiri shawls, the new industrial package, and the need to extend the package to existing industrial units to ensure their growth.

The minister assured the delegation of all possible support from the central government for promotion of local industries, the ministry said in a statement.

Taking action on bottlenecks being faced in export of shawls, he "directed the authorities to set up testing facilities at Srinagar and Delhi airports while simultaneously upgrading the local testing facilities with state of the art machines", according to the statement.

Goyal was emphasising on promoting products that can add up to the export potential of the UT.

Further, he directed the district administration to work out plans for homestay tourism in Pahalgam.

Goyal emphasised that the local industry players should play by their strengths and set up units where the Union Territory has a comparative advantage to ensure sustenance of the industries being set up.

He also inspected stalls put up by various departments including animal husbandry, district industries, ICDS, social welfare, horticulture, sheep husbandry, handloom and handicrafts. PTI

The minister also distributed baby kits among female infants under the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao scheme. Under the Ladli Beti scheme, grants were distributed among beneficiaries. He distributed sanction letters among beneficiaries for purchase of milk vans. HRS hrs

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)