Gujarat is emerging as technical textiles hub: ASSOCHAM study

Contributes over 25% to technical textiles sector

Contributing over 25 per cent at Rs 20,000 crore, Gujarat is quickly emerging hub for the technical textiles sector, says the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). The industry body on Monday released a study on the textile sector titled 'Textile Industry in India – Current Status and the Way Forward'.

With the Rs 75,000 crore sector expected to grow to over Rs one lakh crore by next fiscal, share of Gujarat is also set to propel in near future, said DS Rawat, national secretary general, ASSOCHAM.

"The technical textile industry has grown from Rs 50,000 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 75,000 crore in 2011-12. This is further expected to grow to over Rs one lakh crore by 2012-13 due to huge growth in auto and other related sectors. In such a scenario, Gujarat is emerging as a technical textiles hub with an industry size of over Rs 20,000 crore," said Rawat while releasing the ASSOCHAM study.

According to the study, as one of the leading industrial states in India, Gujarat needs to modernise and up-scale its textile and clothing industry besides setting up industrial parks for various segments of the value chain. ASSOCHAM, however, has been working with textile associations and industry bodies like Ahmedabad Textile Mills Association (ATMA) and Ahmedabad Textile Industry Research Association (ATIRA) for setting up Centre of Business Excellence (CoBE) for training entrepreneurs in setting up textile units.

Nearly 23 per cent of the state gross domestic product comes from textile and related industries, said The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Gujarat is the largest cotton producing state and accounts for 30 per cent of woven fabric and 25 per cent of decentralised powerloom sector of the country.

However, textile units in Gujarat need to invest intensely in research and development for developing new products, reduce average costs of production and transaction, and improve raw material base for unleashing the growth potential, the industry body said in the study. Gujarat accounts for 12 per cent share of the country's total textile exports. About 250 large fabric process houses are located in Ahmedabad and 350 in Surat, with the latter being the largest centre of art silk fabric producing over 40 per cent of production in the country.

As per the study, de-reservation of the small sector can achieve economies of scale and adopt a synergistic approach. Adherence to environment-linked investment norms should be applied right from the stage of cultivation to spinning and weaving to chemical processing to packaging. India has to make a move from lower-end markets to value-for-money markets and trade high value-added products of global standards.

On its part, for exports of textiles and clothing, the government has fixed a target of Rs 1.5 lakh crore during 2011-12, up from Rs 1.28 lakh crore in 2010-11 and Rs 1.1 lakh crore in 2009-10.

In the study, ASSOCHAM said the technical textile sector is set to grow by 11 per cent year-on-year and called for more thrust to the government's Technology Mission on Technical Textiles to promote textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles, geo-textiles, agro-textiles used for crop protection and protective clothing for fire fighters, bullet-proof jackets and space suits.

Meanwhile, according to Rawat, the Indian textile industry contributes 14 per cent to industrial production, 4 per cent to GDP, 17 per cent to export earnings and employs 3.8 crore people, making it the largest source of employment after the Railways. It is currently valued at Rs 2.75 lakh crore with 64 per cent catering to domestic demand.

ASSOCHAM to recruit youths for Japan

With its youth population dwindling rapidly, Japan has been on a global recruitment drive. Apparently, the global economic giant has, along with the Government of India (GoI), assigned The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) the task of recruiting youngsters to be trained in Japan.

"The Japanese government, along with the Government of India, has assigned us the task of recruiting over 1,000 youths from the across the country. These youths will be trained on and off the field in Japan by the local government there for three years," said DS Rawat, national secretary general of ASSOCHAM.

To be recruited from across the country in next 3-4 months, the Indian youths will be sent to Japan for three years' training.

"Their travel and stay expenses will be borne by the Japanese government, apart from being paid stipend during the three years training. At the end of the training, the candidates will be free to choose to work in Japan or return to India. The recruitment drive has been initiated in order to attract youngsters from across the world to work in Japan by the local government since the youth population there is reducing," Rawat added.