Dear Readers,
As the country is going through its largest-ever elections and getting ready for a new government to take forward the existing work and initiate new programmes, the textile industry is working on the action plan for not just the next five years but till 2047 or Amrit Kaal – when “New India” will be fulfilling its aspirations. Of course it’s a difficult task, given the fact that performance of this sector has been almost stagnated in the recent past – both in export front and the domestic front. While global exports of textiles and apparel has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 3.4% in the last five years (2018 – 2022), India’s exports during this period has grown at the rate of 0.8% only. While this is partly due to the geo-politicaluncertainties, consumption shift to other essential and discretionary spends, adverse demographics, and low overall growth of this segment, there is surely endemic issues in the sector today.
The good news is that there is a sense of urgency to reverse this trend and a lot of collaborative action is in the pipeline. Bharat Tex 2024 was one such milestone which was not just the largest exhibition of Indian textile and apparel so far, but a great networking event – both for the whole domestic players, as also international buyers. This event, which was conceptualized by the Ministry of Textiles and organized by the collaborative effort of Textile Export Promotion Councils showcased the world about India’s capability to service the Global Textile Industry across the entire value chain. For the first time, such an event also included sustainability as an important theme for exhibition and theme session. To showcase India’s commitment towards the increasing demand for sustainability and social responsibility, CITI also organized the 2nd edition of CITI Textile Sustainability Awards during the Bharat Tex which were awarded by Hon’ble Minister of Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal and Hon’ble Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Darshana Jardosh. I am extremely sure that such events will inspire others to follow the suit, thereby fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
CITI welcomes some of the important facilitation measures announced in the recent past like the provisions for exempting inputs imported under AA, EOU & SEZ from mandatory QCOs. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has taken steps to alleviate the burden on exporters operating under Advance Authorization (AA), Export Oriented Units (EOU), and Special Economic Zones (SEZ) by enabling provisions to exempt inputs from mandatory Quality Control Orders (QCOs) issued by the Ministry of Steel, DPIIT, and Ministry of Textiles. the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry, expressed gratitude for this initiative, highlighting the challenges faced by export houses reliant on imported inputs affected by the implementation of QCOs. Acknowledging the challenges posed by the demand-supply gap for certain raw materials not readily available domestically, CITI underscored the significance of the exemption provisions. These exemptions will offer much-needed relief to exporters under AA, EOU & SEZ, laying a robust foundation for achieving the target of US$ 100 billion textile & apparel exports by 2030.
To pass on the benefit to the entire textile industry, CITI is also advocating with the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DoCPC) for the same exemption on QCOs issued by them for polyesterfiber and yarn. I do hope that our requests will be considered favorably by them and soon we will have the required exemption in place.
Another important concern of the industry was the rising imports of certain MMF knitted fabric categories particularly at much lower prices than the prevailing domestic market prices. The matter was raised in the last TAG meeting and in response to the stakeholders concerns, the Government has now imposed the Minimum Import Price (MIP) of US$ 3.5/kg on the 5 HS lines of MMF Knitted Fabrics upto 15thSeptember 2024.
Ministry has recently set an ambitious target of achieving US$ 2.4 bn textile & apparel market size (US$ 1.8 tn. domestic and US$ 600 bn. exports) by 2047. Our textile industry has all the potential and capabilities to achieve the same. I would urge all my industry friends to work in close collaboration towards all the thematic pillars identified by the Government.
An important ask of the industry for increasing its global footprint has been FTAs with the western blocks. The Textile Industry witnessed a landmark on this direction with the signing of the India- European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Agreement. This being the first agreement with a Eu-like western block, brings the industry closer to similar market requirements and regulations, besides better market access to this region. The accord with the EFTA members holds the promise of catalysing growth, especially in critical areas such as specialized yarn and other raw materials, technology, and product innovation. The complementarities in our export baskets make this an important Trade agreement to understand and leverage. Considering this, CITI and Swiss Textiles, which is one the important National Associations of T&A in Switzerland, signed an MoU in November 2023 intending to promote bilateral trade and investment as also engage for more product-specific B2B interactions’ knowledge sharing, & capacity building, etc. based on the respective core competencies of both the countries.
As part of the initiatives chalked out in the MoU, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) spearheaded a delegation to Techtextil 2024, the premier international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens, held in Germany from April 23 to 26, 2024. Led by Dr. S.K. Sundararaman, the CITI delegation actively engaged with textile companies and associations, particularly those from Switzerland, to foster collaboration and advance the global textile industry. A B2B meeting facilitated networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities, while the tour of the Swiss Textiles booth provided insights into the latest innovations and developments in the textile industry. This marked the beginning of a strategic partnership between CITI and Swiss Textiles. We intend to continue this dialogue through a series of B2B webinars between the members of the two associations for better understanding of the opportunities and offering from the two sides.
The participation of CITI members in Techtextil 2024 underscores our commitment to leveraging international platforms for innovation, collaboration, and growth within the global textile industry. Additionally, initiatives like CITI’s Young Entrepreneurs Group (YEG) underscore our dedication to nurturing the next generation of industry leaders, ensuring the continued vibrancy and resilience of the textile sector.
In the past, the industry has been supported by schemes such as the PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA) program, the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, and the Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector (SAMARTH). Skilling under the SAMARTH scheme can look into the emerging job roles that this sector will need with the required transition to becoming a sustainable value chain.
The industry looks forward to the new government to take the next steps with regard to these important schemes and ensure effective implementation to ensure the desired investment and capacity building happens in the industry.
