NIT-Patna is planning to offer a textile-engineering course to students aspiring for a career in the sector.

And, the place from where students would get necessary practical knowledge in garment manufacturing and designing will be Bhagalpur - the state's oldest textile hub.

The engineering college's plan to start textile engineering courses assumes importance as the Bhagalpur silk industry has been losing its sheen in the past few years and starting a textile engineering course would help revive the silk industry in the area.

NIT-Patna director Asok De said: 'The engineering college has decided to start textile engineering course in Bhagalpur and in this connection they have also contacted the state government.' De said the NIT administration has approached the industries department to start the textile engineering course.

Ravi Mittal, industries principal secretary, said: 'NIT-Patna has submitted us the proposal and we are going through the proposal but it is in the preliminary stage.'

Sources said the state government would provide space and funds for building the college, while NIT-Patna will have administrative control over the institute. Also, students pursuing the course will get a degree of NIT-Patna.

Sources said NIT-Patna, in their board of governors meeting, would place their proposal and after getting a nod, the engineering college would go ahead with their plans. Sources said if NIT-Patna starts textile engineering course, it will be the first engineering college in Bihar and Jharkhand to offer such a course.

In neighbouring Bengal, two engineering colleges - Government College of Engineering & Textile Technology, Serampore, and Government College of Engineering & Textile Technology (Berhampore) offer textile engineering course. While IIT-Delhi also offers textile engineering, the course is very popular in western states, especially Surat, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

Sources said NIT's plan to set up textile engineering course gains importance as the Narendra Modi government has shown interest in revival of the silk industry in Bhagalpur.

Last year, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, while presenting the Modi government's first budget made proposals for the textile sector, which include setting up of mega textile clusters at Varanasi, Bareilly, Lucknow, Surat, Kutch, Bhagalpur, Mysore and one in Tamil Nadu with a sum of Rs 200 crore.

While silk manufacturing was once a booming business in Bhagalpur, it has lost out to new centres such as Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The Bhagalpur silk industry, which was once prosperous has lost its charm as it failed to compete with other centres owing to lack of necessary support from the Bihar government and poor infrastructure facilities.