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“Today the thrust area for textile industry is to increase the manufacturing and employment opportunities in India” - Mr Saurabh Bhai Patel
Oct 15, 2014

“Today the thrust area for textile industry is to increase the manufacturing and employment opportunities in India” emphasised Mr. Saurabh Bhai Patel, Minister of Finance, Energy & Petrochemicals, Mines & Minerals, Cottage Industries, Salt Industries, Printing and Stationary, Planning, Tourism, Civil Aviation, Labour and Employment, Govt. of Gujarat at CII’s Texcon 2014 Conference in New Delhi.

He added that the strength of Indian textile industry lies in the ginning and spinning, and there is a need to focus on weaving and processing sectors. Also there is a need to give more thrust on the garment industry as it is a labour intensive industry providing more employment opportunities. He also added that the major issue of the textile industry is unavailability of skilled labour and for this the government is setting up skill development centres and centre of excellence. Gujarat being one of the most investment friendly hubs with an advantage of surplus power and  high class infrastructure facilities attracting Investors globally said by Mr Patel. While concluding, Mr Patel invited industry members to participate at the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat to be held in January 2015.

Mr. Phani B. Choudhary, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles and Jute, Govt. of People’s Republic of Bangladesh said that in Bangladesh textile and apparel industry has grown at a CAGR of 15% for last seven years”. He said that the factors leading to the high growth rate of Bangladesh T&A industry are competitive labour forces, innovativeness of entrepreneurs and MFA and duty free quota. Today the only challenge faced by the industry is to look into the occupational health and safety standards to reduce the accidents. He also said that India and Bangladesh are sustaining the increasing demand of the world due to their competitive pricing.

Present at the Conference Ms. Sunaina Tomar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India said that “Central Government is providing has furnished many schemes to spur textile and apparel industry growth”. She said that the key challenges faced by the textile industry are finance cost, land & environment clearances and labour reforms need to addressed. For this there is a need to focus on economies of scale, infrastructure, skill development, technology development and brand promotion. There is a scheme by central government for setting up of Integrated Textile Parks, Mega Textile Parks and Processing Development Parks for infrastructure development. She also added that the government shall be focussing on linkage of fashion and handlooms in order to boost the handloom sector.

“Textile Sector to create India as a manufacturing & sourcing hub under “Make In India” campaign said by Mr. Thomas Varghese, Chairman, CII National Committee on Textiles and CEO, Aditya Birla Group. He added that “Substantial investment is required for Man-Made Fibre (MMF) sector in India” He said that Creating ‘Brand India’ beyond handloom – ‘India is yet to make its presence felt on the global stage with brands, chains. There is tremendous scope for Segment Pervasive Indian brand on the global platform.

“Invest bog and take advantage of Make in India focus” said by Mr. Prashant Agarwal, Joint Managing Director of Wazir Advisors. He said that today the global apparel consumption stood at US$ 1.15 trillion which is expected to reach US$ 2.1 trillion by 2025. Within this India has a share of 9% with US$ 46 billion. From 1995 to 2013, the Indian textile and apparel industry has grown at a higher rate of 9% against the 5% global growth rate, and in 2013 India became the second largest exporter of textile and apparel in the world. Also the Indian domestic consumption is increasing at a growth rate of 11% for last five years. He also talked about the emerging trends of the Indian textile and apparel industry. He said that for growing Indian economy will lead to higher domestic demand and for exports, establishment of larger integrated set-ups will be required.

Jim Brett, President of West Elm Williams Sonoma Inc, USA said that India has unique opportunity and competitive edge over China in handloom and handicraft sector. India, a craft rich country on planet, has the huge advantage of enormous youth population. The skill development training and vocational training will take India forefront to handloom and handicraft market. He also added that the demand for handloom and handicraft product is increasing in USA as there is a shift in the consumer spending.

While presenting the vote of thanks Mr D L Sharma,Conference Chairman and Director, Vardhman Textiles Ltd said that India is quite competitive in textile and with massive cost increases in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Philipinnes in labour and power we have a historic opportunity to build a thriving textile industry and be a catalyst for job creation. In fact it can be the cornerstone of the new government policy of increasing share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 %.

Mr Sharma said that as is the case with Indian IT and ITES sector, our textile industry is also focusing mostly on low cost production and is hence playing in the low margin zone. This needs to change and there should be more focus on high end products. India is blessed with abundant capacity of Polyster Fibre and Filament yarn, Viscose Fibre and Filament yarns and we should exploit this potential in line with International Trends and aim to move up the value chain.

The Conference was attended by over 200 participants with eminent speakers from companies like William Sonoma Inc USA, Reliance Industries ltd, Birla Cellulose, LMW, Batliboi, Rieter and many more.

15 October 2014

New Delhi

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