New Delhi, Wednesday, 24 February 2021: The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi Ji in the goodwill message to the Indian textile industry and Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) – Global Textiles Conclave 2021, which was read today by the Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani Ji mentioned that “Our Government has been taking comprehensive measures in an integrated manner focused on creating the right ecosystem, enhancing ‘ease of doing business’ and capacity-building through skill development. To provide an impetus to the textiles industry, we have implemented a series of measures to upscale physical infrastructure to global standards’’.

The Hon’ble Prime Minister further stated that the “Contribution of the textiles sector is vital towards building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Integrating the sector with the latest technology is one area where the Government is particularly focusing. The textiles industry must continue to innovate, as well as research extensively to enable it to tap new markets and deepen the niche in diversity, manufacturing, and design.

The Hon’ble Prime Minister also pointed out that “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic showed how technology can be utilized to strengthen the disruptive resilience of society and transform a challenge into an opportunity. The hardworking textile workers and craftsmen enabled the textile industry to make an invaluable contribution towards meeting the requirements of cost-effective PPE kits within the country.”

The Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani Ji while inaugurating the CITI GTC2021 said that the present Government is taking concentrated efforts for the betterment of the Indian textile industry and it has announced various policy measures and schemes such as Rs 6000 crore package for boosting apparel production, Rs 10,683 crore for Product Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for MMF Garments and Technical Textiles. The Hon’ble Minister of Textiles further stated that the recent announcement of setting up of Seven Textile Parks in three years under the Mega Investment Textiles Parks Scheme (MITRA) will make the Indian textile industry globally competitive. Hon’ble Minister urged that the MSME textile players need to focus on adopting the global standards so that they can partner with the global sourcing giants in fulfilling the demand of international players.

The Hon’ble Minister in her Inaugural Address further cited that India is going to be one of the largest consumers of technical textiles especially Buildtech, Meditech, and Oekotech. Moreover, recent budget announcements for the infrastructure development in Railways and Roads, Aatmanirbhar Swastha Bharata, and Jal Jeevan Mission of Government of India are going to complement India’s consumption of technical textiles in the coming years.

The Hon’ble Minister further added that the Government of India has announced National Textile Mission with an outlay of Rs 1,480 crore for research, innovation, promotion & market development for technical textile products in India.

The Hon’ble Minister stressed that Sustainable Textiles is the success mantra for the future growth of the textile industry. While concluding the speech, the Hon’ble Minister congratulated CITI for organizing such a grand conclave and appealed to the global investors to come and invest not only in the recently announced seven mega textile parks but in the present operational parks also and capitalize on the inherent advantages of textile industry of India.

Mr. Giuseppe Gherzi, Managing Partner at Gherzi Textil Organisation, Switzerland delivered the theme address on “Reimagining the Global Textile Industry and Opportunities for India”, in which Mr. Gherzi highlighted that the global textile and clothing industry was undergoing a structural transformation that gained impetus during the pandemic. These changes require a step-change in the orientation of the industry in a holistic manner rather than preserving the status quo of what he termed as a “silo mentality”.

The Textile Commissioner, IA&AS Ms. Roop Rashi stressed that the global technical textiles industry is estimated at USD 186 bn and has been growing at a CAGR of 6% which is much more than the combined global growth rate of fashion and home textiles. She further stated that Indian technical textile players should collaborate with the global players as it will not only bring monetary benefits to the industry players but also get the expertise in technical innovation, R&D, product development, technical know-how, which is of utmost importance for the sustainability of the industry.

The Second Edition of CITI Global Textiles Conclave (CITI GTC2021) of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) thus kick-started today with flying colours on a virtual platform. The theme of the Conclave is “The India Factor: Transforming Global Textiles & Apparels in 2021-30” and will last over two-days i.e. Wednesday, 24th & Thursday, 25^th February 2021. CITI which is one of the apex industry chambers of the Textile and Clothing Industry of India organized GTC2021 along with its Co-Partners International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and International Apparel Federation (IAF) and Knowledge Partner, Gherzi Textil Organisation

The two days CITI GTC2021 have the following business sessions:

Session 1: Apparel Sourcing Trends in the New Normal

Session 2: Attracting FDI in Apparel Manufacturing in South Asia

Session 3: Advanced Textiles: Building Blocks for Creating a Technical Textile Ecosystem

Session 4: Addressing Climate Change in the Fashion Industry

Session 5: Digitalization in textile manufacturing

Session 6: Impact of emerging trade alignments

Session 7: Global Fiber Situation

Session 8: New business models in the textiles & fashion industry

Session 9: Sourcing Trends in Home Textiles; Advantage India