Options for the Indian Textile Industry: Diversification

The mantra here is diversity within limits. Although diversification is not a panacea to the difficulties which are faced by the Indian textile industry, at least it gives some life support to the industry in the current dire economic situation. Diversification here refers to three aspects;

1. scale;

2. quality

3. innovation.

What we mean by diversification here is not to just ask for expansion or investments by the industry in totally new areas, which are outside the core competency of a particular industry. For instance, until the global economy starts recovering, it is not judicious for a spinning sector to invest into technical textiles sector or spread thin. Rather it will be logical for the spinning sector to think in terms of enhancing its scale, improving the quality of its products and trying to look into incremental innovation. These three factors, i.e., enhancing the scale of operation, improving the quality and improving creativity utilizing existing resources to innovate new products are the three legs upon which the Indian textile industry should stand. Such an approach will slowly take the conventional commodity sector into the boundaries of specialty textiles sector or technical textiles. This is the logical diversification and the need of the hour.

Scale, Quality and Innovation

An industrialist will feel nervous in the current situation to enhance his scale of operation when the markets are basically flattened. The clarion call made here is not to blindly expand but to harmonize scale, quality and innovation towards better output to create new opportunities. For example, a recent study by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on the opportunities that are existing in the defense sector for the Indian textile industry has called for a better coordination and education of procurement and other opportunities that are existing with the Indian defense sector. In addition, it calls for the Indian textile industry to invest in Research and Development for developing value-added and functional textiles that could be used by the Indian military and also the Indian military to make procurement procedures friendly for the Indian textile industry. In view of expansion, Indian spinning sector can enhance its output by effectively developing high performance yarns and products using high performance fibers such as Nomex, Kevlar, fire retardant fibers in different combinations which will be of use to the Indian defense and aerospace sectors. This kind of expansion of scale which is rather unconventional will not only provide a Plan B to the commodity spinning sector but also will provide the Indian conventional spinning sector an opportunity to get its foot in the defense sectors door. Such kind of activities is possible nowadays because of the existence of either sales or subsidiary offices of high performance fiber manufacturers such as Lenzing, AG in India.

Another leg of the stool on which the Indian textile industry should stand is the constant effort to enhance the quality of its products Industrialists and traders have become more aware of the perks for improvement in the quality and quality labels. Indian textile industry is fortunate to have access to the workshops on quality improvement and quality standards by international professional organizations such as the USA based American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists and the UK based Society of Dyers and Colorists. The availability of these workshops in India most recently at subsidized costs is a good opportunity which the Indian industry should seize. Indian trade bodies such as the Confederation of the Indian Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry should raise the quality bar on its members products and should serve as a good ambassador in promoting the improvements in the quality of Indian goods in international trade forums. With the enhancement in scale and the quality of the products, incremental innovations will expand the product basket of the Indian textile and manufacturing industries. Such a three prong approach will be an immediate requirement for the Indian textile industry to see some growth light at the end of the dark tunnel.