On Saturday, November 12, Union Minister Piyush Goyal was interacting with various Indian institutes and said that campuses of all the institutes under Commerce and Textiles ministries should become incubators for start-ups and look for ways to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the country, as stated in a report by PTI. 

The Union Minister was seen interacting with heads and senior faculty members of the Indian institutes, namely, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), National Institute of Design (NID), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI). Additionally, the minister said, these institutes should increase their student intake. 

In a statement released, the Commerce Ministry said, "The minister called for improving campus placements by marketing ourselves better to the world. He asked the institutions to introspect if their education is tailormade to cater to the needs of tomorrow." Further, the Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Textile Minister suggested the modernisation of campuses, equipment, testing labs and technologies to make them world-class.

Similarly, he also suggested considering having common campuses for more effective utilisation of resources and thinking about merging bodies to strengthen them. "The minister also urged campuses to locate prospective GI (Geographical Indications) products and nurture and develop them whenever possible. India has the potential to have upto 2000 GI products," it said.

Further, during the interaction, the institutes presented salient aspects of their structure and functioning and shared their suggestions and requirements for further growth and expansion. Textiles Secretary Rachna Shah suggested that a core group of the heads of the institution and senior ministry officers may be constituted for a more intensive and sustained exchange of ideas and collaboration, as stated in a report by PTI.