Theprime minister of India, days before his visit to America, launched the "Makein India" campaign, to welcome domestic and international investors tocreate employment opportunities and lead the country towards economic growth.In order to make India a manufacturing hub, an active cooperation for companiesor industry by providing a special cell that ensures smooth regulations was theneed of the hour.


Underthe campaign, the government of India, has identified twenty five thrustsectors where potential investment and manufacturing of products can befruitful. Railways, tourism and hospitality, wellness, leather, aviation,ports, chemicals, IT, pharmaceuticals, and textiles are some of them. Withtextiles and garments having a significant contribution to the GDP of thenation and the country boasting to be the second largest manufacturer oftextile products, there are ample opportunities for investors to explore.


Sincethe textile industry of India also plays a significant role in creatingemployment, generating a substantial industrial output, and bringing revenuethrough export of garments and other textile products, inviting investorsthrough a platform like "Make in India" can be beneficial. Thenation is also home to 24 percent of the world's spindle capacity and 8 percentof rotor capacity, along with a loom capacity (consisting of both handlooms andmechanized) of 63 percent, which is the highest in the world.


Thereare many aspects that garner attention from investors around the world toinvest in the textile and garment sector of India. The size of the garments andtextile market in the country is big for one. According to the Indian BrandEquity Foundation (IBEF), the nation has the potential to reach global trade intextiles to about 8 percent and can be worth $ 80 billion by 2020.


The"Make in India" programme also has incorporated a bundle of otherinitiatives along with laying a red carpet for investors. This includes manynew initiatives crafted to facilitate investments, protection of theintellectual property rights, nurture innovations, and provide a world classmanufacturing infrastructure. Moreover, the campaign is not only launched at anational level but also at state level to provide a wide reach for investors.It is also further going to be promoted at missions abroad to find topcorporates and will also find companies in the domestic textile market, thathave been using innovative technologies, who will be provided support, to helpthem, become world leaders.


Thefashion and apparel industry is also a prospective area in which investmentscan be expected since India offers 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)in single brand retail and 51 percent in multi brand retail. This allowsforeign brands to enter India by either a joint venture or having a licensingagreement with a domestic brand or company. Since many small and medium scaleenterprises supply apparels to international brands they will benefit from Modigovernment's "Make in India" initiative. A lot of multi-nationalbrands foraying into the apparel market will in the face of competition andmaintaining costs will source from India to sustain and provide the latestproducts in a short span of lead time. This will intern improve the supplychain efficiencies, designs, and overall products of the domestic companiesconsequently leading to updated processes and upgraded manufacturing setups.

 

The rise in disposable incomes and growing consumerism have invited many international players in the retail sector such as Guess, Marks & Spencer, and Next. The expected growth of the organized retail sector is believed to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent and more over a decade's period.


Government of India under the campaign assures foreign investors to provide complete assistance right from their entry to their exit with the help of an investor's facilitation cell. The government has also made a conscious effort to make sure the manufacturing also considers the green and advanced sustainable technologies. Another policy introduced was the concept of "Zero Defect, Zero Effect".


The government initiatives in the country have also fostered the development of the textile and garment industry to attract international investors. According to the twelfth five year plan and under the Integrated Skill Development Scheme 2,675,000 individuals will be trained in the next 5 years. The scheme covers a wide range of sub-sectors that fall under the textile and apparel industry like handicrafts, handlooms, jute, and sericulture.


There are immense opportunities in the area of technical textiles growing in India too. An allotment of US $ 115.74 million has been made specifically for technical textiles in India in the twelfth five year plan. With an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent, the technical textile industry reached US $ 123.68 billion in the year 2012-2013. With such remarkable statistics, potential for investments in this sector are also high.


The "Make in India" campaign highlights different sectors in the country where international companies can conduct manufacturing operations, among which the textile and apparel industry proves to be a promising sector in all its strength. An initiative like this is expected to lure foreign investors and is a proactive approach to improve India's rate for the ease of doing business globally.


References:


1.      Economictimes.com

2.      Ibef.org

3.      Technopak.com

4.      Makeinindia.com


Image Courtesy:


Makeinindia.gov.in