India: NIFT to set up resource centre

To inject value-addition to textile workforce here, NIFT-TEA Knitwear Fashion Institute, promoted by Tirupur Exporters Association, plans to establish a ‘model textile unit’ to propagate benefits of vertical integration in supply chain, a virtual library and a resource centre in a phased manner.

NIFT-TEA Institute chairman Raja M. Shanmugham told The Hindu that the new facilities planned were part of the project aimed at developing the institute as a ‘global resource centre’ for learning latest textile technologies in different stages of production.

Vertical integration

The ‘model textile unit’ will be used to teach entrepreneurs how vertical integration of the entire manufacturing chain from yarn production to packaging of finished textile wears can bring greater stability to the production process with the help of miniatures of machines/tools.

“At present, different activities in the chain are geographically scattered which increases the production cost unnecessarily,” Mr. Shanmugham said.

Regarding the virtual library and the resource centre, he said these mid-points would act as one-stop hubs for getting an access to a wide array of textile-related literature and as repositories of value-added fabrics.

Besides setting up infrastructure, the institute also plans to carry out research to standardise the procedures pertaining to ‘fabric norms’.