Source: Textile Review, July 2008 Edition

 

Abstract

India claims 1^st position in terms of the installed weaving capacity in the world, but it does not have much importance in terms of quality weaving as the share of shuttleless looms to the total shuttle looms in India is just 1.62%, which is very meager in comparison to the other countries. So the sector requires modernization by way of replacing the old/ordinary looms with modern looms. This is the need of the hour in order to sustain / expand market share and in meeting the requirement of apparel industry for quality fabrics.

It is conspicuous to every person engaged in the textile business that the textile industry occupies a unique place in the economy of the country by virtue of its contribution to the industry output, employment generation and foreign exchange earning. It commands respect as the largest employer, next to agriculture, providing employment to about 35.00 million people, directly. It accounts for 14% of industrial production and 17% of export.

The textiles of India bear the imprint of the fine craftsmanship of the Indian weaver. The skill of weaving with deft fingers, drawing patterns and creating designs, is an art, which has been handed down through generations from father to son, from time immemorial. These finest gossamer fabrics woven from yarns of superior finish are now being manufactured more and more on powerlooms. The emergence of powerloom has transformed an art into a modern industry, employing more than 7 million workers. The combination of traditional art and contemporary modern designs, have given an unique character to the Indian powerloom textiles. The modernization process undertaken by the powerloom industry has widened the scope of products such as grey, printed and dyed fabrics and cotton made-ups into a variety of sophisticated finished lines of a wide range of widths and sizes. Besides, the industry is now in a position to offer fabrics not only of cottons but also of rich blends of cotton, synthetics and other fibers. The process of economic liberalization has enabled the industry to become globally competitive, not only in terms of price, but also of quality. It is therefore not surprising that the total exports from the sector has grown from Rs.1917.66 crore in 1996 to Rs.8296.15 crore in the year 2005-06.

The top ten major importers of powerloom fabrics and made-ups of 100% cotton are USA, UK, Germany, Italy, Bangladesh, France, Greece, UAE, Sri Lanka, and Spain.

The Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXClL) set up by the Ministry of Textiles in 1995 has been making constant endeavors to develop the powerloom industry and to promote exports of powerloom textiles. The Council has been organizing Buyer - Seller meets for the domestic as well as export markets in addition to participation in national and international fairs to promote the exports of powerloom textiles. The Council has been facilitating modernization and quality improvement in the industry through seminars & workshops. The PDEXCIL has also been actively working as interface between the Govt. and the industry on various policy related matters.

It is estimated that there are around 19.24 lakh looms in the decentralized powerloom sector in the country, spread over around 4.31 lakh units with an average holding of around 4 looms producing around 62% of the total cloth production in the country. The majority of these looms are conventional, ordinary shuttle looms; with virtually no process or quality control devices or attachments. The numbers of shuttleless looms are only 35,000. Thus India claims 1 st position in terms of the installed weaving capacity in the world, but it does not have much importance in terms of quality weaving as the share of shuttleless looms to the total shuttle looms in India is just 1 .62%, which is very meager in comparison to the other countries. So the sector requires modernization by way of replacing the old/ordinary looms with modern looms. This is the need of the hour in order to sustain / expand market share and in meeting the requirement of apparel industry for quality fabrics. Therefore the Government of India, Ministry of Textiles had devised the strategy for modernization of the powerloom sector. The National Textile Policy 2000 (NTxP-2000), recognizing the criticality of the weaving sector to the entire textile industry and its export thrust, has laid emphasis on the adoption of appropriate technology in the decentralized sector and envisaged action for its rapid modernization. The objective is to aim for induction of 60,000 shuttle less looms up to the end of 2007 in the decentralized powerloom sector which will lead to a quantum leap in technology upgradation.