Recently, Prime Ministers Skill Development Council organised a workshop to chart out an action plan for skill development for the key manufacturing industries. Textiles and Clothing is considered as a priority segment for this purpose and the Advisory Council asked CITI to initiate the process of setting up a Sector Skill Council for the textile sector. We are already on the job and a proposal has since been submitted to government in this regard.
The fourth meeting of Inter Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) on TUFS was held on December 7, 2011 under the chairmanship of Secretary (Textiles). The main agenda was the debt restructuring proposal submitted to government by CITI. In addition to representatives of banks and the industry, senior officials from Finance Ministry and Planning Commission and IBA also attended the meeting. I made a presentation to the IMSC highlighting the crisis in the industry and the need as well as urgency for a restructuring programme. I explained that production of yarn and fabrics had been declining steeply since May 2011 as was evident from government data and the downstream sectors also faced similar trends. The financial results of textiles and clothing companies listed the Bombay Stock exchange showed that most of them had poorer results during the first half of this fiscal year and many made net losses. I brought to the attention of the officials that while there had not been any default in repayment of loans so far, the current trends in profitability and cash flow would create a difficult situation for the industry and the impact on the debt repayment would be visible any time now. Along with the other representatives of the industry, I explained the precise facilities needed for avoiding default in repayment and accounts becoming NPAs. I understand that our requests are being considered actively by various departments of government and the RBI and hope for some positive results soon.
CITI through its Cotton Development and Research Association (CDRA) organized a farmers’ meeting in Bhilwara, Rajasthan on 19thOctober 2011. Over 2000 cotton farmers from Bhilwara, Banswara and other nearby districts of Rajasthan attended the meeting. Scientists and officers of the State Government were among the participants. The farmers who had achieved outstanding yields by participating in our Frontline Demonstration Programme were felicitated by awarding certificates of appreciation. Shri P.D.Patodia, Chairman of CITI’s Standing Committee on Cotton which handles the CDRA activities organised the successful event. The details have been included in this edition.
The Young Entrepreneurs Group (YEG) of CITI has been organising several meetings in every year to bring forth the important issues confronting the industry and discuss them among the budding textile and clothing entrepreneurs and with invited experts. The group is a vibrant wing of CITI. CITI’s YEG and the Committee of Young Directors of SIMA had a combined meeting in Coimbatore on 9th December 2011. A detailed presentation was made in the meeting by Mr. C.R.Rajagopal of Deloitte Haskins and Sells on ‘Overview of the Indian Textile Industry’. He observed that marketing strategies like formation of business combinations, cluster modelling, common branding and creation of a pull process in the end marketing rather than the push process across the value chain would be factors that would drive different segments of the industry in future.
CITI has been organizing an annual event called ‘Asian Textile Conference’ (ATEXCON) from 2005 onwards. ATEXCON brings together the lead players of Asian textile industry, global input suppliers and service providers to deliberate on key areas of business, like raw material scenario, capacity building, innovations in technology, trade and business opportunities and other regional as well as global issues concerning this sector. The Conference also focuses on the emerging opportunities through cross country cooperation. I am happy to inform you that the 6th Asian Textile Conference (ATEXCON) will be held on 5th and 6th March 2012 in Hotel Westin, Mumbai, India. Speakers and participants are being invited from all countries involved in fibers, textiles, clothing, textile machinery and allied products. Leading industry representatives from USA, EU, Japan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Korea and Africa are being invited to participate. Raw material scenario will be one of the important business sessions of this conference where issues related to cotton and manmade fiber will be discussed. 6th ATEXCON is organized concurrently with the Kingpins show being held in Bombay Exhibition Centre on 6th & 7th March 2012. The Kingpins Show is one of the largest Denim Shows organized world-over by Olah Inc. Participants in the show will also be visiting Atexcon. The two events are being organized simultaneously to create a rare chance for textile manufacturers to interact and explore new and prospective business areas. I would like to request for the active participation of everybody in the textiles and clothing sector in this event of CITI and make it a success.
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