Centre, NIFT Join Hands For India's Own Size Chart

An India Size survey titled INDIAsize was officially launched by the Ministry of Textiles and the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to build a standardised garment size chart for the Indian population. Three3 D whole-body scanners were procured from abroad would be set up in five locations in Delhi. Secretary of Textiles Upendra Prasad Singh noted that the survey would create a new identification number for customers through mapping, categorisation, and defining their body size. He further mentioned that the findings could also be applied across other industries to ergonomically designs suited to the Indian population.

Will Measure 25,577 People

After Delhi, they would send the machines to other cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Shillong. The New Indian Express quoted Noopur Anand, a NIFT Professor and INDIAsize Principal Investigator, saying that the surveyors would set up the scanners at Select Citywalk, Mahagun Mall and NIFT Campus in Delhi. She added, "We will measure a total of 25,577 people between 15-65 years across six cities from six regions of India". Several experts operate the scan machines, apart from the six core members and one project coordinator for all country's six regions.

Process Takes Less Than A Minute

A person would enter the scanning machine wearing a scan suit, and the entire process would take less than a minute. The entire process will take nearly five to six hours. In the pilot run, 130 participants were manually measured for 102 points. However, when all the measurements are taken manually, the entire process becomes cumbersome and lasts for five to six hours.

The scan that the machine takes is called 'Avataar' is then run through specially designed software, and the measurements are extracted accordingly. The project was previously delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic that mandated physical distancing. The Professor said they are expecting December 2022 to be the 'finishing point' of the survey.

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