Govt, industry need to cooperate to build Brand India in textiles: Report

The government and industry needs to act as a combined force to build Brand India in the textiles and apparel sector, according to a report.

The CII-Kearney joint report suggested that the government should focus on putting in place key enablers to attract investments in the domestic textiles sector and optimise operations like improved market access and cost-competitiveness while creating an enabling business environment.

The report also underscored the need for industry players to adopt global best practices in terms of manufacturing competitiveness, enhancement of service levels, capabilities in design, innovation and need for more investments in sustainability and traceability.

It also highlighted that achieving the USD 65-billion exports target up from USD 36 billion in 2019 will require India to carefully strategise actions in five key areas, including apparel, fabric, home textiles, man-made fibre and yarn and technical textiles.

The report calls for targeting a USD 16 billion increase by riding the China Plus One sentiment. India is suitably positioned on this, thanks to its relatively large strategic depth compared with Vietnam or Bangladesh.

Besides, it recommends a USD 4-billion jump by positioning India as a regional fabric hub, starting with cotton wovens and then extending to other sub-categories.

The report also suggests setting a target of USD 4 billion increase by building on existing advantages to expand the global customer base, and targeting a USD 2.5 billion-USD 3 billion jump with a focus on gaining share in MMF (man-made fiber) products.

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said, "The Indian textile industry is one of the largest manufacturing sectors by employment. To realise its full potential in the global market, strengthening of the textile industry value chain and broader market access is a must.