Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Textile Industry

The rise of Indian Textile Industry

The economic health of the country acts as a barometer when it comes to growth and investment of the textile industry. Prior to recession, India economy was throbbing, posting a robust growth rate of 9.4 percent p.a. The benefits of economic growth undoubtedly seeped its way down to the people of the country as evidenced by the rising per capita income of India.

The rise in the purchasing power of the middle class, thanks to booming IT-BPO sectors, triggered a huge demand for fashionable clothes which led to the emergence of some world class Indian designers launching latest designer apparels. The Indian middle class, at present, stands somewhere around 351 million.

Today, the textile sector contributes about 14 percent to industrial production, 4 percent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 16.63 percent to export earnings.

Therefore, one can easily assume that market size of India is growing at an accelerated pace. Little wonder, foreign investors are making a beeline for investment in India in an attempt to get hold of this expanding pie. With increasing demand for Indian textiles in the global markets, even new players are trying to cash in by jumping into the fray and even the existing mills are planning to raise their capacity so as to increase supply.

Thus it can be said the whole of Indian economy is growing which has had a palpable impact on every potential sector including the Indian Industry.

The rise of Indian Textile Industry

After the end of Multi-Fiber Agreement, Indian Textile Industry went through a major change in its outlook.

Multi Fiber Agreement was launched in the year 1974 in an attempt to bring in line both the textile industries of the developed countries and that of the developing countries. The textile industries are known for their labor intensive nature of commodity production. In fact labor has always been in surplus in developing countries. So naturally these countries are at better advantage in the production of textile related products and hence are able to supply goods at lowest prices. The fundamental idea behind the policy was to stamp out all kinds of quota system, and offer a level playing to all the countries of the world. The whole process of dismantling the quota system was over by 01.01.2005.

MFA is being looked upon as a stepping stone by the experts with the help of which the Indian textile and apparel industry is expected to grow at a much faster rate. The assimilation of Indian industry with whole world started off from 1950s. Slowly, but surely it made its way into the top ten league of countries involved both in the export of textile and apparel products after 1998. According to the statistics released by United Nations Statistical Division, 2005, the average compounded growth rate of clothing item exports was around 13 percent. The report also underlined the fact that the textile industry alongside the apparel industry witnessed a jump of almost US$0.9 billion during 1985-2003 which is almost 15 times better than the base period.

The production of fabricated products by the India Textile Industry between 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 increased at a rate from 41973 million square meters to 45378 million square meters. But with implementation of the MFA, the same increased from 45378 million sq. mts to 54260 million sq mts during the period between 2004-2005 and 2006-2007. Hence one can say there was a percentage increase in the fabric textile product from 7.5 percent during 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 to 16.37 during the period between 2004-2005 and 2004-2007. Thus the competitive edge bestowed by MFA is quite clear.

New developments in Indian Textile Industry

On an annual basis the cotton textile industry posted a growth rate of around 14.8 % while the products produced by textile industry clocked a growth rate of above 11%. The textile sub-sector involving silk, wool and man-made fibers have also seen a sharp increase in its growth witnessing 8.2% on a yearly basis.

• Year 2006-2007 witnessed a significant rise in the production of spun yarn sector by almost 10.3%.

• Highest rate of growth has also been recorded in the Hosiery sub-sector and power loom sub-sector amounting to 10.1% and 8.8% respectively.

• Export rate of cotton textiles showed a growth rate of 21.47%.

• Export rate of man-made textiles was 19.03%. Hence it can be concluded that growth rate of textile sector was phenomenal after the disintegration of the MFA regime. The primary reason being the competitive edge enjoyed by the Indian textile industry globally. However, the real issue being the export earnings of the industry had fallen significantly with the falling of US Dollar price with regards to the Indian Rupees. Thus, the experts are a bit concerned about the growth of the Indian Textile Industry in the upcoming years.


Monday, February 22, 2010

The Textile Industry – Part V


Government Policies


Introduction

The Indian Textile Industry is looked upon as one of the largest industries in the world. The Ministry of Textiles in India has introduced several policies and schemes targeting the growth of this sector. Some of them listed here include:

Insight into India’s National Textile Policy

The National Textile Policy was devised bearing in mind the following objectives:

• Boost the growth of the textile industry in India and nurture and fix its position in the global arena as a leading manufacturer and exporter of clothing.

• To cut down imports of the domestic market.

• To infuse competitive spirit by liberalizing stringent controls

• Promoting Foreign Direct Investment and R&D in this sector

• Focus on diversification and up gradation taking into account the environmental concerns.

• Evolvement of a firm multi-fibre base; and developing the skills of the weavers and the craftsmen in the process.

The goals set to meet the following targets:

• The Technology Up gradation Fund Scheme should be executed in a focused manner.

• The garment industry should be eliminated from the list of the small scale industry sector.

• The handloom industry should be prompted to flex its muscles and embark into foreign ventures to compete globally. The National Textile Policy is also working towards streamlining the availability and the productivity of quality raw materials. Due care is being taken to control the unstable prices. Special measures are being undertaken to raise the level of Indian silk to the International Standards.

Preamble

• To know the purpose of the industry and to cater to people’s most basic requirements and promote sustained growth and thereby enhance the quality of living.

• To recognize textile industry as an independent industry, from manufacturing raw materials to delivery of finished products, and its significant contribution to the economy as a whole.

• To appreciate its vast potential for generating employment opportunities in noteworthy sectors like agriculture, organized sector, urban and rural areas, decentralized sector especially for women and differently abled.

• To identify with the Textile Policy of 1985 which saw annual growth rate climb by 7.13 percent, textile exports by 13.32 percent and per capita availability of fabrics by 3.6 percent.

• To evaluate the issues and problems confronted by the textile industry and strategies outlined by experts for this specific purpose.

• To manufacture good quality clothing and cater to the demands of the people with reasonable prices.

Important areas

The government of India in an endeavor to promote textile industry laid emphasis on several areas, which are mentioned below:

• Pioneering Marketing Strategies
• Improvisation in technology
• Alteration in Products
• Quality Consciousness
• Improvement in the quality of raw materials
• Increase in productivity
• Increase in exports
• Finance Planning
• Generation of Employment Opportunities
• Human Resource Development

Pioneering Efforts

Government of India has laid down certain targets that’ll help build and promote textile industry of India. To attain the aforesaid targets, dogged efforts are being made in the following direction

• All manufacturing segments of textile industry will be governed by TUFS (Technology Up gradation Fund Scheme)

• Enhance the quality and productivity of cotton. The aim is to enhance 50 percent productivity and sustain quality of international standards.

• Set up the technology mission on jute with an objective to enhance cotton productivity of the country.

• Inspire private organization to offer financial support to the textile industry.

• Encourage private players to establish world class textile industry.

• Persuade handloom industry for producing value added items.

• Persuade private sectors build up world class textile industry and then embrace various textile processing units scattered in various parts of India.

• Restore functions of the TRA(Textile Research Associations) and start giving importance to research works

Insight into the Government policy in terms of cotton and man-made fiber

One of the primary aims of the government policy is to improve the quality and the productivity of cotton and man-made fibre. Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Textiles and cotton growing regions are mainly responsible for achieving the target. .

Other important areas for textile industry

IT sector

The IT industry plays a paramount role when it comes to development of textile industry in India. The IT industry has laid down a sound commercial network for the textile industry to prosper and grow.

HRD sector

Optimum utilization of human resources helps build the textile industry to a large extent. Government of India has laid out some effective strategies to optimize its utilization in support of the textile industry.

Financial Planning

Government of India is also prompting talented Indian Designers and technologists of India to work for the Indian Textile Industry and is also planning to establish a venture capital fund in collaboration with financial establishments.

Indian Textile Acts

Some of the important acts with respect to the textile industry include:

• Central Silk Board Act, 1948
• The Textiles Committee Act, 1963
• The Handlooms Act, 1985
• Cotton Control Order, 1986


Under the Textile Undertaking Act, 1995 Government of India is trying its best to offer pertinent facilities so as to exploit the sector to its full potential and achieve the said target. The industry is presently growing at the rate of 9-10 percent and is estimated to grow at the rate of 16 percent in value. The clothing and manufacturing sector is expected to grow at the rate of 21 percent in value terms.