India continues to be a front-runner in the global textile trade. The resounding success of Textiles India 2017, held from June 30 to July 2 at Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat, India’s first-ever such mega textiles trade fair, has further reinforced the growing stature of the country in the field of textiles.
The three-day event saw virtually the entire ‘who’s who’ of the global textile industry converge under a single roof. The event had B2B, B2G and G2G meetings with 2,500 international buyers, over 1000 international and domestic exhibitors and with 15,000 visitors. The other key highlights of the event were country sessions, State sessions, round-tables and sectoral seminars, apart from fashion shows, a variety which made it a must visit event for every stakeholder in the textile industry.
The event provided an excellent platform for B2B interactions and exploration of investments and technological tie-ups across various segments in the textile value chain.
Prime Minister’s call
Delivering the inaugural address on the occasion, the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, highlighted the rising opportunities presented by the domestic market. Stressing this key point, he said: “Our high economic growth has resulted in higher disposable income. The resulting higher demand for products offers a huge domestic market. Ours is a nation of aspirational youth who wish to spend on textiles, apparel and handcrafted lifestyle products. The domestic market for apparel and lifestyle products, currently estimated at $85 billion, is expected to reach $160 billion by 2025. This growth will be driven by the rising middle class.“
Mr. Modi highlighted how the ‘Make in India’ program has infused the organized textile industry with the mantras of ‘skill, scale, speed’ and ‘zero -defect, zero-effect’ for scaling up employment, production and exports.
Reflecting on the growing might of India in the global textile trade, he stated:” There is also a high global demand for textiles and apparel manufactured in our country. India is the world’s second largest exporter of textiles, commanding a global share of around five per cent. Indian textiles, including traditional handloom and handicraft products, are exported to more than a hundred countries.”
Reiterating the government’s continued focus on improving the ease of doing business, the Prime Minister observed that India today has one of the most liberal investment policies for foreign investment in the textile and apparel sector and that 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route in the textile and apparel sector is allowed.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Textiles Minister, Ms. Smriti Zubin Irani, stated: ”Textiles India 2017 gives fillip to the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. It gives a platform for global partnerships in order to benefit local businesses.” The event provided a platform for the entire textile value chain for fostering strategic partnerships that encourage investments and envision a glorious future for the Indian textiles industry. Global citizens from 106 countries, 15,000 Indian buyers and sellers, 2,500 international buyers, international delegates and representatives and artisans and weavers came together under one roof and the mega event reaffirmed to the world about the potential of the Indian textile industry.
The event attracted a whole lot of prominent industry captains. One of the most well-known names in the Indian textile industry, Mr. Gautam Hari Singhania, Managing Director, Raymond, in his address, lauded the efforts of the Union Ministry for Textiles for the excellent organization of the event. “Textiles India 2017 is a first of its kind forum. It is an unprecedented platform for the Indian textile industry, its products and services. This kind of platform also throws open opportunities for exchange of ideas across companies and countries.”
Going into details about Raymond’s future plans, Mr. Singhania said that in over nine decades of the company’s existence it has been in the forefront of the textile industry. “We manufacture more than 110 million meters of fabrics and 9 million garments in India. For worsted textiles, we are among the top 3 manufacturers in the world. With our recent capacity addition, we are on our way to becoming one of the top 5 suit manufacturers in the world. We have the largest retail network in the country with over 1000 stores across 400 towns and cities and we employ more than 30,000 people in the ecosystem.”
Inspired by the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ program, he said, Raymond has augmented its capacity in its existing denim business and shirting business by 7 million and 6 million meters respectively. The company is also setting up a greenfield project in Amravati. In the first phase of development 4 million meters of linen capacity is being commissioned by the end of this year.
Raymond has also embarked on a mission to promote khadi. The company had been in the news recently for joining hands with the Khadi & Village Industries Commission for launching reportedly the country’s first Khadi label.
Giving an insight into the mission, Mr. Singhania said that this initiative will create multiple employment opportunities and empower the artisans. Raymond would be undertaking design innovations at khadi manufacturing clusters, providing artisans insights into the latest fashion trends. The initiative will see new doors open for khadi through the numerous Raymond outlets across the country, as well as select international markets and e-commerce portals.
Elaborating further on the mission, he observed: ”We will procure all the khadi varieties and send it to our manufacturing facilities for finishing processes ensuring superior product handle and finish. This initiative is expected to impact 10,000 khadi artisans and generate 3 million additional man hours of employment.”
Mr. Singhania also announced Raymond’s expansion plans of its retail footprint through the addition of another 500 stores in the next three years.
Lauding the efforts of the Government, Mr. Singhania added that about hundred years ago the vision of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, turned the textile industry to being the torch-bearer of self-reliance and independence, and now under the visionary leadership of Mr. Narendra Modi the textile industry is playing a key role in making India a global powerhouse.
Aditya Birla Group’s Aadyam initiative
Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, began his address by giving an overview of the group’s textile business. “We are uniquely positioned across the forest to fashion value chain. Over $ 5 billion of revenues flow from our textile business. We have 5 state-of-the-art R&D centers and our business in textiles is anchored by over 45,000 employees. Our operations are spread across 8 countries and 20 manufacturing facilities and we take pride in taking India to the world.”
Commenting on the emerging market scenario, Mr. Birla said:” Increasing disposable income and emergence of new consumer segments present significant growth opportunities. This, along with the government’s inclination towards skill development and promoting innovation, augurs very well for the Indian textile industry. “What we are also witnessing is a historic opportunity unfold as the global market shifts away from China, whose exports have reduced by more than $20 billion in the last three years. We may see an additional $50 billion vacating China by 2025. This puts India at the cusp of reshaping the textile industry’s national significance. Importantly I believe that our aspiration should now be to make India the textile capital of the world. It is the responsibility of the stakeholders here to pivot the scale, efficiency and sophistication of the Indian textile system. I believe the building blocks to make the most of this opportunity are already in place,” he added.
Mr. Birla further observed that while the focus on accelerated growth for the organized textile industry is important, it is also necessary to ensure that the unique crafts and traditions of the handloom sector are also nurtured. This sector also provides livelihood to some of the weakest sections of the society.
Citing two examples of path-breaking work being done by the group’s textile business, Mr. Birla remarked: “Some of you may have heard of a brand of fabric called ‘Liva’. Liva is a fabric made by a close-knit chain of accredited partners – spinners, weavers, knitters and fabricators – adhering to strict quality standards. This is supported by a strong communication strategy which creates a consumer pull by building visibility and positioning Liva as an aspirational brand.
Mr. Birla then cited the example of the ‘Aadyam’ handwoven initiative, which carries forward the group’s philosophy of sustainable livelihood. “Our vision is to preserve and grow the rich Indian tradition of handwoven textiles by creating a sustainable ecosystem for weavers. Aadyam enables weavers to upgrade designs and access markets both in India and overseas, while ensuring that the artisan who is at the heart of the product is truly benefitted for his or her skills,” he added.
GST welcomed
The importance of the GST roll-out for the textile industry was brought out by Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai, Managing Director, Arvind Mills, in his address at the event. He congratulated the Prime Minister for the roll-out of GST, which was a “historic, bold and transformative reform”. The move will help the Indian textile industry to become modern and globally more competitive.
“The textile industry offers huge opportunities on multiple fronts like world scale garmenting, innovation and growth in the fields like man-made fibers and technical textiles. This is expected to create an additional 20 million jobs and contribute to the GDP as well as export earnings. With the GST in place, along with the asset of forward looking policy initiatives, we in the textile industry pledge our unstinted support for the ambitious and visionary ‘Make in India’ program,” he added.
In his address, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, considered a pioneer in bringing in reforms himself, said how India can take advantage of its young population, strength of technology, large market and its ancient legacy in textiles, leveraging these strengths to catapult itself into a position of leadership in the textiles trade.
The Chief Minister of the State – Gujarat, Mr. Vijay Rupani, thanked the Union Textiles Ministry for choosing as the venue for the mega event and said that it proved be an excellent platform for networking and exchange of ideas.
Textiles India 2017 saw the conduct of 22 roundtables and six conferences chaired by prominent Union Cabinet Ministers. The country sessions of South Korea, Russia, Bangladesh and ASEAN saw enthusiastic participation from the delegates. Lively interactions marked the State sessions organized by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Telangana.