In his address, Thiru Dayanidhi Maran said that CATS, Kangra would be the first fashion institute in the country to offer doctorate-level studies in the field of fashion designing, fashion communication, accessory design, textile design and fashion technology. He added that out of Rs60 crore earmarked to set up the centre, Rs20 crore would be needed to set up infrastructure and other related facilities for CATS on the 18-acre campus. Maran pointed out that research studies would commence in the coming academic year.

Thiru Maran informed that 1950 students had been admitted in the 13 NIFT Centres spread throughout the country during the current academic year and he added that his ministry was seriously considering proposals of various State governments to set up NIFT centres in Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

Thiru Maran said that the government had brought into force the National Institute of Fashion Technology Act, 2006 on July 14, 2006, which confers statutory status on the institute and formally recognises its leadership in the fashion technology sector. The minister pointed out that the Act empowers NIFT to award degrees to its students from 2007 onwards, thereby making it the first fashion institute in the country to award degrees in fashion education. 

He said that NIFT was considering a proposal to publish fashion text books and added that reputed publishers had shown keen interest. Presently, there are no standard prescribed texts books in the field of fashion. This venture by NIFT will be a milestone in fashion education.