Mr. Prem Malik, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), has said that the textile industry could play a key role in making the ‘Make in India’ program of the Government a success. “As you know, the textile industry is the mainstay of the manufacturing sector. The industry contributes about 14% to the manufacturing sector. Therefore, this is one industry which can contribute very quickly and substantially to expand manufacturing. Additionally, the textile industry can also help increase employment. After agriculture it is the biggest employer in the country”.
Addressing a press conference in Coimbatore to discuss the current Indian textile scenario, Mr. Prem Malik admitted that the textile industry is going through a tough phase. Issues affecting the industry include demand-supply gap, slowdown in the economy, especially in the developed world, and reduced allocation under the Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (TUFS).
Mr. Malik further pointed out that the disposal income of the domestic consumer is also not encouraging enough. “When the disposable income is under stress, the consumer has no option but to put aside textile and clothing as a low priority.”
However, he was optimistic about a positive turnaround in the near future. “There are certain segments within the textile industry that have been doing well. For example, the growth in garment exports has been encouraging. We hope that, with the corrective measures suggested, the rest of the sector will also be on the growth course within a short period of time.”
Mr. T. Raj Kumar, Chairman of the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), sharing similar sentiments on the occasion, expressed the hope that the textile industry would be back on the growth track sooner than later.