By Express News Service HYDERABAD: The Telangana government is working closely with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for setting up India’s first National Design Centre, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said on Saturday. The minister who was speaking on the second and final day of the Hyderabad Design Week said, “This design centre will provide design consultancy services to companies, capacity building and training for raising quality of design education in India, help in global positioning and branding of Indian designs.” “It would also promote design innovation and create design awareness, marketing and showcasing design trends via expos, exhibitions, workshops, supporting MSMEs and startups in improving competitiveness and encouraging design research,” KTR added. KTR noted that despite the increase in awareness about the importance of design, the design industry is still nascent in terms of profitability, the number of full-time professionals, and original content creation. He reasoned that it was because either people did not realise the value of design, or that traditional businesses were relying on procuring designs from abroad. The minister, while quoting estimates from CII said that the design industry in India was expected to be around Rs 19,000 crore by 2020. Design multinationals are also looking to expand their presence in the country, he added. The minister also stressed on the importance of sustainable development and said that the state government was taking steps to address the issue. “During the Hyderabad Design week, we organized design challenges in collaboration with partners such as CII and Inquilabs to crowdsource ideas from young minds. This practice needs to be further encouraged in coming time,” he said. Meanwhile, Srini Srinivasan was appointed as the first Indian president of World Design Organization.

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