Non-functional textile units rise in Punjab, Haryana: Study

The strength of non-functional textile factories rose in Punjab and Haryana, causing job loss, primarily due to low productivity, lack of foreign investments and labour issues during 2000-01 and 2010-11, said a study by industry body Assocham.
Clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 35 per cent, the number of non-operating textile units in Punjab grew to 227 units from 11 during the period 2000-01 and 2010-11, said the study.
"The number of jobs lost due to non-operation of textile factories in Punjab grew at about 41 per cent during the aforesaid period as the state has suffered loss of over 32,600 employment opportunities as of 2010-11 as against over 1,000 lost employment opportunities in 2000-01," according to the study titled 'State-wise assessment of textile sector & recommendations.'

Similarly in Haryana, non-operating textile factories grew from 11 to 175 during the aforesaid period thereby clocking a CAGR of about 32 per cent and the state suffered a loss of 14,300 job opportunities as of 2010-11 as against 675 jobs lost as of 2000-01, said the study.
The number of jobs lost due to non-operation of textile units in Haryana grew at about 36 per cent CAGR, it added.
"The total number of textile factories in Punjab increased from 635 to 929 during the aforesaid period, however, the number of textile units in operation increased from 624 to just 702," it said.

"While in Haryana, the total number of textile factories increased from 455 to 630 and the number of textile factories in operation increased from 444 to 455," it said.

The number of people employed in the textile units under operation in Punjab increased significantly from about 58,804 to over 1,00,857 during 2000-01 and 2010-11, while in Haryana the number of employees in operating textile factories increased from 27,238 to 37,228 during the said period, it added.
"Low productivity, lack of advanced manufacturing technologies, lack of foreign investments, supply chain bottlenecks, lack of economies of scale, labour related challenges, issues arising due to a fragmented industry and weak brand positioning are certain key reasons for non-operation of textile units," D S Rawat, Secretary General of Assocham said in a release.

"Increased domestic and global competition and high initial investment cost for state of the art production facilities are other emerging challenges being faced by Indian textile industry," said Rawat.