Indian Textile Machinery Industry

The textile industry in India is considered a pioneer industry, as India’s industrialization in other fields has succeeded through the textile industry’s resources. From the early 1970s to the beginning of liberalization in 1992, the industry tended to be isolated as measures taken by the Government (with the apparent objective of protecting the cotton growers, the large labor force, and the consumers) have constantly eroded its prosperity.

The Indian textile industry is considered the second-largest industry worldwide. It has the biggest cotton acreage, 9 million hectares, and is regarded as the third-largest fiber producer. Regarding staple fiber production, it comes fourth and sixth for filament yarn production. The country reports about one-fourth of global trade in cotton yarn Sci Burg.

With over 15 million people employed, the textile industry accounts for 20 percent of its industrial production. This sector covers textiles and garments, and thirty percent of India’s exports come from it; it is the largest contributor to the Indian economy’s growth. Despite high capital and power costs, the Indian textile and garment sector’s strength comes from cotton availability, lower labor costs, well-skilled supervisory staff, and plentiful technical and managerial skills.

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Although few countries have such resources, today’s globalization has brought new opportunities to the Indian textile industry. Concurrently, it is exposed to threats, particularly from cheap imported fabrics. Thus, India has to fight for its share in the international textile trade. Even if it is assumed that the WTO will mean better distribution of world trade, India’s benefits will not differ from those of the other developing countries. Therefore, the Indian textile industry would have to rely on its strengths and endeavor to remove its weaknesses.

India’s apparel exporters have been employing various strategies to ensure they remain competitive in the liberalized trading environment of 2005 and beyond. Many manufacturers are taking action to improve production efficiency through advanced automation systems, re-engineering of production systems, merging separate production units, and backward and forward integration of operations and are keen to expand their production capacity in anticipation of enhanced demand in 2005 and beyond, Among other manufactures are seeking changes through diversifying their product ranges, exporting high-value apparel and improving their design capabilities and some of are planning to raise the added value by setting up joint ventures with foreign firms, to take benefit of their technical, design and marketing proficiency. Others are making relationships with foreign buyers to increase their marketing capability.

The Indian Government has also supported removing restrictions on investment by large companies and foreign investors. The Government has also assisted in expanding exporters’ infrastructure and incentivized technological upgradation. The most important limitation is the inflexibility of labor laws, which makes it hard for large firms to cut their workforces when required.

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Textile industry in the tenth plan

The Tenth Five Year Plan of India (2002-2007) forecasted a GDP growth rate of 8 percent, for which an industrial growth of 10 percent is predicted.

The Tenth Plan aims to facilitate the textile and apparel industry to:

. Develop a world-class state-of-the-art production facility to accomplish and maintain a leading global position in producing and exporting textiles and clothing.

. Withstand demands of import penetration and uphold a dominant existence in the domestic market.

. To accomplish these aims, heavy funds are needed for technology and modernization in critical areas, particularly in the spinning, weaving, knitting, finishing, and apparel sectors.

. The technology up-gradation scheme (TUFS) introduced in 1999 is intended to make investment components attractive. This scheme has been established to promote modernization and technology up-gradation in the sectors specified in the textile and jute industries.

. India’s Government has also declared the National Textile Policy-2000 to expand a sound and vibrant textile industry. The objectives and plunge areas of the national textile policy cover technology up-gradation, enhancement of productivity, quality consciousness, product diversification, etc.

Schemes to strengthen investment in textiles during the Tenth Plan cover:

Rearranging spinning capacity

At present, nearly 38 million spindles already exist. About 10 million old spindles must be scrapped, and another 15 million must be modernized. Additionally, about 3 million new spindles must be set up during the Tenth Plan period.

Looming

The decentralized power loom sector, which reported a 68 percent share of the country’s cloth, is in extreme and immediate need of renovation. The textile package declared by the Central Government included the renovation of the weaving sector, which included 2.50 lakhs of semi-automatic/automatic shuttle looms and 50,000 shuttleless looms.

Finishing

The country has nearly 2324 processing establishments, of which 83 belong to composite units, 165 to semi-composite, and 2076 to self-governing processing houses. Twenty-seven establishments are modern, 1775 are of medium technology, and 322 are obsolete. Reconstructing finishing units will require a huge financial expenditure.

Schemes for expanding and developing the knitting sector, technical textiles, and woolen and jute industries must be considered. The textile Engineering Industry is encouraged to modernize and offer state-of-the-art technology. Focused textile machinery R&D efforts will initiate domestic reach and development.