Textiles to top the list

The Textile Minister, Dr. K. Sambasiva Rao, has time and again expressed his firm resolve to further stabilise the textile sector to help it regain its status as a major global player. His vision for competitive growth of the industry aims at achieving a dominant global standing for India both in manufacture and export of textiles and creating huge employment opportunities in the entire textile and clothing value chain. This is just in keeping with the 12th Plan programme that envisages an upward revision of textile exports from the current level of $34 billion to $50 billion by 2015 and generation of an additional one crore jobs in the sector which now employs five crore persons. The special emphasis here is on the need for time-bound action for building up modern manufacturing capacity not only to meet the export target but also to address the mounting domestic market demand.

What is significant to note here is that, while the US and the EU, together accounting for almost 60 per cent of overall textile exports from the country, have started exploring other neighbouring countries for sourcing of textile products, the garment and apparel sector has received a big boost with India attaining the status of a factory-compliant country. MNCs like Wal-Mart, GAP, American Egle and Target have now shown greater preference for Indian garment products and have placed big orders resulting in an additional $3 billion business for the country. They are also setting up more malls all over India alone or in partnership with local parties. At the current encouraging rate, this year’s garment exports are sure to touch the targeted level of Rs. 80,000 crores, representing an 8-10 per cent growth over last year. Meanwhile, in order to make up for the fall in demand from the traditional Western markets, Indian textile exporters as a whole are making vigorous efforts to increase their presence in the emerging markets like Latin America, Africa and Japan. The textile export scenario is thus in for a major transformation.

The Government move to declare textiles as a priority sector simply reflects the prominent role assigned to it under the Prime Minister’s five-pronged development strategy for the manufacturing industry. Approval of a debt restructuring package to help loss-making mills and the move to ensure easier flow of bank funds to textile units are part of a series of measures contemplated to give a big push to the industry growth with the sole objective of making it the front-runner in the emerging scenario.