Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena, has approved two major initiatives to strengthen the Union Territory’s renowned Pashmina sector and improve the livelihoods of the Changpa pastoral community.

 

At the first meeting of the newly constituted Ladakh Pashmina Development Board, the Lieutenant Governor approved a first-of-its-kind Livestock Development Incentive Programme, under which herders will receive a 25 per cent top-up incentive on the procurement value of raw Pashmina through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

 

He also sanctioned an eight-crore-rupee revolving fund for the All Changthang Pashmina Growers Cooperative Marketing Society to ensure timely procurement of raw Pashmina and prompt payments to herders.

 

The Board has set a target of doubling the Pashmina goat population to four lakh and significantly increasing raw Pashmina production over the next three years.