In a significant political development, State President of the Prahar Association, Shri Anil Gawande, along with a large contingent of his supporters, officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a public ceremony. BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule welcomed Gawande, honoring him with a party scarf as a symbol of his new affiliation.

Anil Gawande, a well-known leader and activist for the rights of farmers and farm laborers, is expected to bring added momentum to the BJP’s efforts in West Vidarbha. Bawankule expressed enthusiasm for the new alliance, saying, “We are delighted to have a leader like Anil Gawande, who has been a fierce advocate for agrarian issues, joining our ranks. His presence will undoubtedly strengthen our party’s influence in the region.”

The BJP anticipates that Gawande’s support base will help further consolidate its position among rural and agricultural communities in Maharashtra.

Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Giriraj Singh today launched the ‘VisioNxt Fashion Forecasting Initiative’ of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), a bilingual web portal and the India-specific Fashion Trend Book ‘Paridhi 24×25’. The event was also graced by the Union Minister of State for Textiles and External Affairs, Shri Pabitra Margherita and Textiles Secretary, Smt. Rachna Shah.  

In his address, Shri Giriraj Singh stated that the VisioNxt project has been launched under the visionary leadership and guidance of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi. Shri Giriraj Singh said that after 2014, India began prioritizing indigenous design and manufacturing and VisioNxt is a result of this shift.

In this era of fast fashion, VisioNxt initiative will foster healthy global competition and elevate Indian culture and design to new heights on the global stage, Shri Singh said. He noted that the fashion industry will benefit from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) based trend insights offered by VisioNxt. This service will establish India as a leader in the global fashion sector, he added.

At the Global Textile Summit in 2017, the Prime Minister highlighted the gap in the availability of India-specific real-time trend insights for industry stakeholders. Recognizing the necessity for a tech-enabled trend prediction system, India aims to engage in a dynamic dialogue—drawing inspiration from within while projecting its influence outward—to understand the mindsets and aspirations of Indian citizens.

In response, VisioNxt—a Trend Insights and Forecasting Initiative—was conceived and established at NIFT Delhi (Creative Lab) and NIFT Chennai (Insights Lab), with the support of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, in 2018. The initiative, now centralized in Chennai, focuses on delivering trend insights and forecasting for the Indian fashion and retail market. It also offers various trend related consultancy services, academic courses, workshops etc.

NIFT VisioNxt is India’s first-ever initiative that combines AI and EI to generate fashion trend insights and forecasts. Its mission is to identify, map, and analyse geo-specific trends, reflecting the positive plurality, cultural diversity, and socio-economic nuances of India while collating comprehensive trends and insights.

India’s entry into the forecasting space offers multiple advantages: it reduces dependence on global forecasting agencies, provides unique insights into Indian fashion consumers, integrates India’s strength in information technology with textiles, and combines artificial and human intelligence.

To support weavers, manufacturers, retailers, domestic businesses, homegrown designers, and fashion brands, this report is available in Hindi and English through the VisioNxt portal (www.visionxt.in). The initiative empowers users to design, produce, and launch consumer-focused, targeted collections for this diverse nation ‘Paridhi’ will mark the launch of the first inclusive fashion trend forecast by VisioNxt, along with a web portal to disseminate India-specific fashion trends.

VisioNxt has achieved this through the development of a unique prediction model known as “DeepVision,” designed to decode patterns and interpret fashion trends in India. This model identifies product specifics, such as whether an item is a Kurta or Kurti, red or yellow, plain or striped, short or long, among other attributes, using convolutional neural network architecture at the Insights Lab of VisioNxt. These insights are then converted into comprehensive reports with design and color directions.

A pioneering AI deep learning model developed in-house, identifies over 60 Indian wear and 40 western wear categories through computation with mandated accuracy, facilitating machine learning applications—a first in India. The initiative also involved creating a comprehensive dataset of more than 70,000 primary apparel images, along with 280,000+ secondary image data, to identify patterns in key apparel attributes, including style, color, and regional accents.

VisioNxt positions India globally among countries that predict fashion trends, increasing the visibility of Indian fashion vocabulary and identity while reducing dependence on international trend agencies.