India : Future prospects bright for textiles

India is celebrating its 60th year of independence and is eagerly looking forward to many more! Today, the country has reached a crucial stage where its growth and development has attracted the attention of major trade players. Especially the textile industry, which has not only penetrated but has carved a niche on the global arena.
Fibre2fashion contacted several industry biggies to learn their views as well as understand what they expect from the future.
Saurabh Kumar Tayal Chairman of Jaybharat Textile explains, "The major elements for boosting the Indian textile industry are the opening of economy, dismantling of quota system and labour cost advantage. It is observed that in the US, EU and Far East, major textile units are being shut down because of high labour cost. As a result, businesses are shifting to countries like India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka."
President Eastern Silk Industries, G Venkatesh elaborates, "In the past 5-7 years, the growth of textile industry has hastened, chiefly due to the Multi Fibre Arrangement of WTO and the removal of quotas. Textile sector has been investing money in modern technology duly supported by the Government introducing Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme. More and more domestic consumers are demanding high quality textiles and this has further triggered adoption of Quality Production and Standardization Procedures."

China is a major competitor for India, and it has become one of the top three merchandise exporters in the world.
Speaking about how India lags behind this Asian textile giant, Vinod Jhawar, Managing Director, Dhanlakshmi Fabrics Ltd, says, "India comes second only to China because of higher costs and duties. Thus, back-duty be introduced. Presently, traders are only paying tax and not gaining anything; it this back-duty that will help make up for their margins. Power and water costs in India are also very high. Besides, skilled labour is not as easily available. Most of the talented labour is family-oriented and looking for white collar jobs. So, most get into merchandising and desk-jobs that offer other work-place comforts."
Sandeep Sharma, CEO Indian Acrylic Ltd further stresses that "China deals in complete value chain, starting from yarn to finished goods. Thus, it derives maximum from raw materials, whereas, India has recently started taking this segment seriously. Another advantage for China is its advanced logistic and infrastructural facilities. However, in India, schemes like TUFS are doing very well. It is a very transparent and a beneficial scheme for companies."
However, S T Kulkarni, Director and President Futura Polyesters Ltd, stands to differ. He says, "India does not lack in technology but in machinery. Using smart and better equipments will help India reach the top in the next 4-5 years."

Tayal adds saying, "No doubt, India is one of the leaders in textile business. However, what it lacks against China is in terms of investments. To achieve top position, apart from investments, Government support is essential. If textile industry gets privileges like that of agriculture industry, as it is closely linked to cotton cultivation and yield, it will create tremendous growth prospects and generate huge employment opportunities."
As for future of textiles, sources from Sangam India Ltd say that with the Government's support, industry will see rapid progress.
An unnamed National Textile Corporation Ltd official also agrees and views that the current booming scenario and liberal Government policies will definitely boost the overall state of the textile sector.
Sandeep Sharma believes, "Textile industry is on the rise and is getting rationalized. During our visit to China, we found that they have much more unorganized market compared to India. Chinese banks are not very disciplined; as a result, companies can pay back loans whenever they want to. Thus, it becomes a kind of subsidy for the enterprises. Furthermore, Chinese currency is artificially manipulated. So, if China gets the organized market, the currency price will crash and India will be the ultimate beneficiary. In the last two years, Chinese Yuan compared with Indian Rupee has come down from 8.23 to 7.06 in Rupee terms. This change is due to the WTO agreement, which has rationalized the demand as well."
Tayal also beams, "Future prospects for textiles are unquestionably very strong. In the next 10 to 15 years, India will be much ahead of China. In fact, in the next 3 to 5 years, China will start loosing ground, similar to what is happening in Europe today."