Guwahati, Aug 7: Don?t be surprised if the next fashion rage at glitterati parties are your good old jute bags.

Because jute is going designer.

The National Centre for Jute Diversification has tied up with national design institutes like the National Institute for Design (NID) and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) for design innovation and product development of Assam jute.

Executive director of the National Centre for Jute Diversification, Arun Pal, said at a news conference today that there was tremendous scope for jute diversified products in Assam. ?The rich heritage and traditional skill of Assam can be improvised for making beautiful products from jute, which is a natural and biodegradable fibre,? Pal said.

The tie-up with NID and NIFD is under the design and product development scheme which provides design inputs to make the product market worthy.

An awareness workshop on Jute Diversification ? Prospects and Potentials will be held tomorrow to discuss the business potential of jute and jute diversified products and the various schemes available for providing financial assistance to such enterprises.

There are six jute mills in Assam and the total jute production is 1.42 lakh metric tonnes. There are 274 entrepreneurs and over 1,200 artisans currently engaged in jute diversified products.

He said the quality of jute produced in Assam is excellent and on a par with that of Bangladesh.

?With indiscriminate use of plastics being restricted by many state governments, an enormous opportunity has opened up for diverse varieties of jute bags,? Pal added.

Not just bags, the centre is eyeing bigger projects involving the use of diversified jute.

Two roads, covering a stretch of 10 km, will be built in Assam using jute geo textiles, Pal said.

A meeting will be held tomorrow with the Assam PWD to finalise the plan.

The National Centre for Jute Diversification, formed under the ministry of textiles, is the nodal agency for promotion of jute diversified activities and is engaged in providing backward and forward linkages like raw material, design support and skill development.

There are three jute service centres, at Guwahati, Silchar and Agartala and three extension centres at Gangtok, Dimapur and Itanagar, which help identify and train the artisans and prospective entrepreneurs.