In the quota free market India faces a huge uphill task. We should not take our market for granted. Our competitors are inching to take us over and if drastic improvements are not brought into our textile industry immediately then India may be a loser in the long run . Most important challenges are increase in productivity, improve quality, improvement in supply chain and above all improve in manpower capabilities and skill all over by better trainings in all fields.
Till recent past the most common solution to problem was just hire more employees, buy more machines or spend more money.We cannot afford this approach anymore. Instead of throwing more physical resources at problems, organizations need to try and identify bottlenecks and remove them by scientific analysis and professional enforcement
We knew what is coming, we now know challenges, we know what future expectations are and at least now we need to adapt & meet this head on.
It is under such circumstances that India needs to plan her strategy and make India an alternative to China as a sourcing hub.
The International Conference on Apparel & Home Textiles organized by Okhla Garment and Textiles Cluster on October 7 and 8,2006 resulted in valuable exposure of the cluster units and the garment industry professionals to the latest trends in technology, fashion and good manufacturing practices adopted in various parts of the world. The conference also resulted in networking of all the stake holders the Industry, academics and the policy makers.The recommended Best practices that have been adopted globally and need to be taken up by the Textiles & Apparel Industry are:
Cluster centric approach in the development of the industry. The policies in the post quota regime that can make the industry more competitive need to be looked into and modified accordingly Infrastructure upgradation on priority basis Ways to reduce Trasanction costs Automation In garment industry in designing, sampling, manufacturing and finishing Besides Apparel, Home Textiles, Industrial and technical textiles have a lot of potential and need to be exploited fully Create an organisation which can support scale, have multi product factories, help in removal of infrastructure deffeciencies and can create a niche for themselves. Rationalize state and central taxes so that taxes are not exported Role of training in Indian textile industry has to be given due importance India has to work on its strengths and get competitive. Emphasis on the focus on the end Customer Adding to innovation and product development in the field of textiles by using traditional Indian textiles and promoting Brand India Quality of a product and overall business experience is of great importance to a garment exporter
SME’s constraints are limited size and scale; outdated technology and the poor infrastructure.
State Initiatives
Automation in Garment and Home Textiles Industry in Designing ,Sampling ,manufacturing and Finishing Judiciously Channelise Investments in the value chain
In order to achieve the potential, an investments of over US$ 39 Bn. will be required, not only to modernise existing capacities but also to create fresh capacity. Major portion of this investment will be required in downstream sectors of Weaving,Knitting,Processing and Garmenting.
Invest in building human capital though training upgradation and creation of institutes of textile specific learnings.
Governments in PPP mode with the industries must invest heavily in training in the textile sector especialy garmenting which has the potentiality to provide 4 million jobs by 2010.
China’s policy makers had formulated a law according to which, if you indulge in any industrial activity in china, 5% of the total capital employed should be marked for training.Country needs a separate budget for training where India is lagging behind. The greatest asset India has is high ratio between younger and older people.
India has to work on its strengths and get competitive.
India’s distinct strengths accrue from the strong and large multi-fibre base.
Availability of abundant, low cost and skilled work force, and its presence across the entire value chain of the textiles and apparel industry.
India has all the key ingredients required to take advantage of the emerging opportunity, but needs to have a well defined strategy to achieve the potential.
The focus on value addition will also automatically ensure development and growth of upstream segment of the textile value chain. Processing is among the weakest link in the entire textile value chain, though it is a critical segment that determines the quality of the fabric/ apparel. Significant investment will be needed in this segment to facilitate the shift of focus of the industry to value added products.
The greatest value addition in the textile value chain is generated in the apparel segment. Apparel will, therefore, need to be the main thrust segment for enabling achievement of the vision.
Having gained a niche for small, low-to-medium orders in the world market, these industries now need to diversify into the growing market for higher quality as well as mass consumption products.
Quality
Quality of a product and overall business experience is of great importance to a garment exporter.
The following steps will remove the critical constraints for the industry in setting up global- scale capacities in the apparel segment of the textile value chain:
