INTERNATIONAL
NATIONAL
At the one-day workshop on “Logistics Cost Framework” organized by DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with Asian Development Bank (ADB) today in New Delhi, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal highlighted that the journey from India@75 to India@100 needs an efficient logistics ecosystem to drive us through Amrit Kaal to become Atmanirbhar Bharat. The efforts of infrastructure development through several inisitatives such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and the revolutionary PM GatiShakti Initiative, will bring down India’s Logistics cost from double digit to single digit. He suggested taking note of India’s geography, terrain, size and complexities, trade volume and value etc while calculating the logistics cost. He shared that in the last 9 years, from being the 10th largest country in terms of GDP, India has now become 5th largest country in the world. India will become the 3rd largest country in the coming 2-3 years, through the impactful infrastructure projects that are going to be implemented from April 2023 to March 2024. He further added that E-commerce, smarter FTAs, adopting international quality standards, good manufacturing practices, leveraging on our successful startups ecosystem, utilizing National Education Policy 2020, drone technology, artificial intelligence, strong PPP collaborations and Centre-State partnerships will work towards catalyzing India’s development. Logistics in India as a policy tool will help achieve ‘Serve the world from India’ and ‘Make in India for the world.’ While sharing his opinion in his opening remarks Secretary, DPIIT, Sh. Anurag Jain said, ‘just in 4 years India’s infrastructure is many times better than before’. He also shared how PM GatiShakti NMP has revolutionized the Planning Process through digital surveys. It has helped in reducing time and cost in DPR preparation and infra projects, optimum utilization of financial and human resources. Special Secretary, Logistics Division, DPIIT, Smt. Sumita Dawra during the closing remarks, acknowledged the approach and methodologies presented by the international and Indian Experts. She also mentioned that as an outcome of the workshop, a Task Force including members from NITI Aayog, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), academic experts and other stakeholders will be established for formulating a Logistics Cost Framework in a time-bound fashion. The workshop witnessed participation from Shri Suman Bery, Vice chairman, NITI Aayog; Member Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC PM) Dr Rakesh Mohan; Director General South Asia Department, ADB Mr. Kenichi Yokoyama, ADB senior functionaries, Senior academicians from international universities; senior officials from relevant Ministries / Departments, and private sector representatives. In the workshop, views were presented on the importance of logistics cost calculation, as India enters a potential period of sustained growth and development. Academic minds presented existing global frameworks and models for calculation of logistics costs. This workshop brought together the best minds from across the world who have expertise in the logistics domain. The key speakers on the significant aspect of logistics cost assessment in the workshop were professors and academicians from Japan, Thailand, Korea and Industry experts. During the workshop it was discussed that there is a need for diagnosis on logistics cost in India, that includes among other aspects, parameters such as optimal transportation modal mix, packaging, warehousing and storage, other administrative and indirect costs. A new possible approach for calculating estimates through Technology driven secondary data sources such as E-Way Bill and Fastag data needs to be explored.
Source: PIB
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Textiles, Commerce and Industry while speaking at the Export Awards function organised by the Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) in Mumbai stated that the time is ripe for the Indian products to be best in quality in the world. According to Goyal, about 2,000 products will come under Quality Control soon and there is a need to stop using low-quality products and increase the scale of focus on quality In a speech to the industry, the Commerce and Industry and Textiles Minister stated that we must study each Free Trade Agreement and better understand the needs of other countries. “Export Promotion Councils should establish offices in other countries, such as Dubai. We need to think outside the box.” The Minister told the industry that we must pay close attention to quality. “The time has come for us to have the best quality in the world. This is what consumers in India and around the world want. The days of producing two types of quality – domestic quality and export quality – are over. Soon, 2,000 products will be subjected to Quality Control. We must discontinue the use of lowquality products. We need to expand our scale and focus on quality.” The Minister asked the industry to advise the government on which products require Quality Control Orders. “If you participate actively in consultations, we will get the right quality of products. At the same time, this should not result in an irrational cost increase. Quality standards must evolve. Please let us know if the domestic industry suffers for any reason; we are on your side.” The Minister congratulated the award winners, saying that they are truly serving the nation and that the award is only a token of their efforts. The Minister urged the industry to submit proposals for collaborative research projects, develop new innovations, and enter new markets. “I request that the industry benefit from the National Technical Textiles Mission and accelerate the industry’s growth.” He urged the industry to use Samarth (Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector) to improve the industry’s skill levels. The Commerce and Industry Minister stated that the world’s trust and importance in India demonstrate that we are a bright spot in the global economy. “Without India, future global economic growth is impossible. The opportunity we have today is extremely rare. The stars are aligning for us to succeed; it is up to us to seize the opportunity. I have complete faith in SRTEPC to complete this mission successfully.” The Minister noted that, for the first time, the Prime Minister met with Export Promotion Councils to discuss the way forward, including export targets. “Following last year’s record exports, we are confident of exceeding 750 billion dollars in exports this year, based on figures available to date.” The Minister stated that it is a source of pride for us that we will meet this target despite global headwinds. According to the Minister, unlike sports such as cricket, the state of business and industry is now such that the paradigm is one of win-win. “The Trade Agreement between India and Australia is a unity agreement, the two economies are very complementary. While Australia imports the majority of its manufactured goods, it provides many of our raw materials, such as critical minerals. Because the market for lithium and other rare earths and minerals is expanding, there is an investment opportunity.” Despite the world’s worst health crisis of COVID-19, India assured that no one had to suffer from hunger, thanks to the government scheme for distributing free food grains under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, the Minister observed. “People are today moving fast from poverty to middle class; our farmers’ incomes are improving, productivity is rising, they are getting good prices too. Rainfall is also adequate for many years.” During the pandemic, the Jan Dhan – Aadhaar – Mobile JAM Trinity enabled the country to perform Direct Benefit Transfer, according to the Commerce and Industry Minister. “Now, under One Nation One Ration Card, you can obtain your ration from any ration shop in the country. There is no need to be concerned about pilferage or theft because the entire system has been digitised.” Balkrishnan Goenka, Chairperson of the Welspun Group, received the Exemplary Award from the Minister. Dhiraj Raichand Shah, Chairperson of SRTEPC, stated that despite the global position of business, the members of SRTEPC have performed well. Concerning the need to increase exports, the Chairperson stated that the industry must work harder, focus more on R&D, and increase exports by at least 20% next year. He emphasised that the government is responsive to the industry and works to solve problems. “If we go together in the interest of the industry, then we will all benefit Given how the government has operated over the last eight years, the time has come for us to learn from the government rather than the private sector. The government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to promote exports, such as the PLI scheme.” SRTEPC Immediate Past Chairperson Ronak Rughani stated that this is the first time in the organization’s history that the Commerce and Industry Minister has presented awards to SRTEPC Export Award winners. He thanked the government for its years of assistance to the Council and the industry.
Source: The Blunt Times
A new textile policy to be announced by the State government is expected to focus on holistic development of the entire textile value chain, with measures for development of latest design and to textile machinery manufacturing, said Ravi Sam, chairman of Southern India Mills’ Association. Welcoming the announcements in the Tamil Nadu Budget on SIPCOT industrial parks in Coimbatore, Vellore, Kallakurichi, and Virudhunagar, 10 mini handloom parks at an outlay of ₹20 crores, and factory skill schools, he said the handloom parks would upgrade the standard of handloom products by using latest technologies and creating market linkages. The target fixed to double the installed power generation capacity by 2030 and increase the share of green energy to 50 % is laudable as the export market is prioritising sustainability, he said. A. Sakthivel, chairman of Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said the Budget proposals focused on industrial and infrastructure development to make the State a top exporting hub. At present, Tamil Nadu contributed 9.5 % of the country’s exports ($ 30.5 billion). The proposal for new SIPCOT industrial parks, allocation for global. According to K.M. Subramanian, president of Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, the Salem and Virudhunagar parks would pave way for the growth of textile exports and generate more employment. Welcoming the allocation of ₹25 crores for the factory skill schools, he said skilled workers were essential to increase productivity and quality and reduce waste generation. He sought extension of the metro rail project to Tiruppur. The Indian Texpreneurs Federation convenor Prabhu Dhamodharan said the government’s plan to set up a textile park in Salem on 119 acres at a total cost of ₹880 crores, with investment from the Centre and the private sector too, would enable the textile supply chain in the western districts move towards value-addition. The new park can target apparel and home textile segments. The Open End Spinning Mills Association president G. Arulmozhi said in a press release that infrastructure development would attract investment to the State. According to the South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association, the Budget announcements show the commitment of the State government to boost industrial growth. While there were several welcome measures, there was no announcement for Tiruppur, it said.
Source: The Hindu
The central government has decided to shift the office of the textile commissioner to New Delhi. Jayashree Sivakumar, under secretary in the ministry of textiles, has written to textile commissioner Roop Rashi informing about the decision Mumbai: The central government has decided to shift the office of the textile commissioner to New Delhi. Jayashree Sivakumar, under secretary in the ministry of textiles, has written to textile commissioner Roop Rashi informing about the decision. “I am directed to inform you that it has been decided with the approval of the competent authority to restructure the office of textile commissioner and textile committee (TC) in order to enhance effectiveness and achieve optimal use of resources. This restructuring exercise would involve shifting textile commissioner and few key officials to the Ministry of Textiles (MoT) to strengthen the technical arm of the ministry, deployment/deputation of officers/staff from head office and field office to TC head office and field offices,” the letter read. As a first step to initiate the process of restructuring/merger, it has been decided that the textile commissioner will be moved to New Delhi along with a few key personnel, including one joint textile commissioner, two deputy secretary level (director rank) and two deputy director level officers. The textile commissioner will be seated in the ministry and other officials in the regional office at NOIDA, according to the letter. The officials have been told to shift by April 5, 2023. The textile commissioner acts as the principal technical advisor to the Ministry of Textiles and carries out techno-economic surveys and advises the government on the general economic health of the textiles industry through its eight regional offices at Amritsar, Noida, Indore, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Navi Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The office of the textile commissioner was established in 1943 during World War II for arranging the supply of cloth to the defence forces as well as civilian population. After the end of the war, the textile commissioner was given the regulatory function of administering the prices, distribution and control of certain varieties of cloth meant for civilian consumption in the post-war conditions of scarcity. However, after Independence the office assumed a developmental role and contributed towards modernisation and growth of all segments of the textiles and clothing industry. The post of the textile commissioner used to be occupied by senior IAS officers. Since the post was in Mumbai, many IAS officers of Maharashtra cadre used to apply for it so that their central deputation period was also completed. Roop Rashi, a 1994 batch officer of Indian Audit and Accounts Service, is the current commissioner. She refused to meet this correspondent and also answer calls. The PRO of the textile commissioner office did not comment. One employee said that they were uncertain of how many employees will remain in Mumbai and how many will have to shift The party MP, Anil Desai, said, “Our Mumbai is very progressive and developed. This is an attempt to undermine Mumbai and lessen the importance. This is unfortunate.’’ Shiv Sena deputy leader Vishakha Raut said, “It is a pity that they are robbing Mumbai of this office. My uncle worked as textile commissioner. Mumbai’s economy depended on mills. Unfortunately, these mills have closed and replaced by buildings.’’ The Sena (UBT) has been criticising the centre’s move to shift various important offices and projects from Mumbai to Delhi and Gujarat. In 2013, the headquarters of Air India was shifted from Mumbai to Delhi. The Marine police academy which was to come up in Palghar was shifted to Dwarka in Gujarat. The trade and patent office which was based in Mumbai was also shifted to Delhi. The facility to construct transport planes for the Indian Air Force was to come up in Nagpur and was shifted to Gujarat. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was also vocal about the shifting of Adani airport offices from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
Source: Hindustan Times
TradeIndia.com, a B2B online marketplace, has launched a new digital campaign, #PragatiKeRang, to celebrate the onset of spring, a time for new beginnings and boundless opportunities. Through this digital campaign, the B2B e-commerce giant has taken a story-telling approach to inspire more MSMEs and SMEs to adopt digital technology and help boost the country’s economy. The campaign takes a storytelling route to showcase how various sectors, including agriculture, textiles, chemicals and many others contribute to the country’s economic growth. The #PragatiKeRang campaign serves as a tribute to this crucial sector, showcasing the vibrancy and richness of its diverse segments. Speaking about the campaign, Sandip Chhettri, CEO of TradeIndia.com, shared, “At TradeIndia, we recognize the pivotal role that SMEs, legacy businesses, and MSMEs play in the Indian economy and how their contribution will enable India to achieve its vision of an empowered and inclusive economy. Through this campaign, we aim to encourage more businesses to become digitally saksham and harness the power of technology to unlock their true potential. We believe that with the right support and resources, these businesses can scale new heights and contribute significantly to India’s economic growth story.” As per the company, the campaign is live across all social media handles of TradeIndia and will run throughout the month of March featuring different sectors within the MSME industry, highlighting their contributions to India’s economy.
Source: Financial Express
The textile industry in Salem is hopeful of a revival in fortunes once the proposed Rs 880-crore textile park becomes a reality. “The textile industry is spread across rural and urban parts of Salem. Branded garments are an important segment and there are 200 units that exclusively export to the USA and European countries. Sarees and dhotis for the domestic market are widely produced with hundreds of handlooms, power looms and auto looms operating in Salem,” said A Alagarasan, president of Salem yarn colouring park. “The growth of the textile industry was stunted due to the lack of any major infrastructure development. In this backdrop, the government has announced setting up a new textile park. This will revitalize the sector, as both central and state governments would grant subsidies to entrepreneurs willing to open shop here. Starting from the installation of machinery, other expenses will be met through contributions from the industry side,” he added. K Mohan, an exporter, said, “The textile industry in Salem will go to the next level through this new textile industrial park. It will help to boost exports. It will also increase employment opportunities.” “About 100 units are to be established in this textile park. Aside from these, all dyeing process units in Salem are to be brought under one roof inside the park. There are 85 dyeing process companies operating in Salem. Common effluent treatment plants (CETP) facility is also set up for these needs at a cost of Rs 150 crore. This is also included in that Rs 880 crore. This will improve the environment in Salem,” said another industrialist. An officer from the industry department said, “The new textile park will be established in Zakir Ammapalayam. A total of 119 acres of land owned by the government will be offered to private players who would develop and set up the park. Further announcements regarding this will be released soon.”
Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai will welcome readers from June Madurai: Finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan’s announcement that the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai will have its first readers in June has brought cheer to bibliophiles. Construction of the eight-storey building is almost complete, and only 5% of interior work remains. The building, situated on two lakh square feet and having state-of-the-art facilities, is being built at Rs 114 crore. Around 3.5 lakh books would be housed in the library in the first phase on various subjects including English, Tamil, literature, Engineering, Law and Research. There will be an exclusive section for children’s reading books with audio and video facilities. Separate sections have been provided for competitive exam aspirants. K S Saravanan, writer, and headmaster of Dr T Thirugnanam Primary School at East Santhapettai suggest programmes to attract children to the library regularly.
Source: New Indian Express
The mega textile park to be built on 1162 acres (903.07 acres in Lucknow, 259.09 acres in Hardoi) between Lucknow and Hardoi will be known as Sant Kabir PM Mitra Textile and Apparel Park Limited. The huge complex of textile park to be built in Attari village of Mall block of Malihabad tehsil of Lucknow will become the primary centre of all the activities of the textile industry running in 15 districts of the state. Here, the Chikankari and Zari-Zardozi of Lucknow, Handloom of Hardoi and Barabanki, carpet of Sitapur, Zari Zardozi of Unnao, Hosiery and Textile of Kanpur, Block Printing and Zari Zardozi of Farrukhabad, Zari Zardozi of Shahjahanpur, handloom industry of Ambedkarnagar, Azamgarh Gorakhpur and Rampur. Silk, handloom and textile clusters of Mau and Varanasi and apparel clusters of Gautam Budh Nagar will be seen contained in a single complex. Along with this, the textile park will be directly connected to these districts as well.Mega Textile Park is going to get the biggest benefit from the strengthened road, rail, air and water connectivity in UP. The mega textile park located near National Highway 30 connecting Sitarganj in Uttarakhand and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh will have direct connectivity to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. Apart from this, being close to Lucknow-Hardoi Fourlane State Highway 25 will also give it an additional advantage. Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport Amausi being just 45 km away from here, air cargo will be easily accessible. Moreover, Lucknow’s Charbagh Railway Station is located at a distance of 40 km and Sitapur Junction at a distance of 70 km. Also, Malihabad Railway Station being at a distance of 16 km will provide better rail connectivity for freight. The Yogi government has already got an assessment done regarding water and solid waste management in the mega textile park to be built in Attari. As per the assessment, ground water is available below 40 feet in the area of Textile Park, due to which there is sufficient availability of water. Apart from this, the aerial distance of Gomti river is also 10 km away. The canal is also passing right next to the park. On the other hand, according to the assessment done for municipal and solid waste management, a waste to energy plant is located in Shivri village near Mohan Road, at a distance of 40 km. The presence of 33 and 11 KVA line is already available in this area for power supply. Along with this, 400 KVA substation at Jhetha will also be very helpful for the Mega Textile Park. There is no ecologically sensitive or protected area within 40 km radius of the park.
Source: Newsroom Post
Local businessmen associated with the textile industry have demanded that the Bhgwant Mann government in Punjab must renew its efforts to get a textile park allocated in this border district after the Union Government allocated seven mega textile parks to other states, ignoring Punjab. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the setting up of seven PM MITRA (Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) textile parks for states. The PM had announced the textile parks for Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. About two months ago, Union Commerce and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the AAP-led Punjab government had withdrawn the application for textile park citing unavailability of land. Textile manufacturers said that it amounted to injustice to the state which once dominated the textile sector in this part of the country. With this, the entire effort of the industry department to arrange for 400 acres of land in Ramdas had been frittered away. Sector 63, Gurugram The Arbour DLF 63, Gurugram units are sold out. The Arbour Open Deepak Khanna, president of the Textile Manufacturers Association (TMA), an 87-year-old organisation with over 80 manufacturers as its members, stated that the state accounted for 23 per cent of national cotton production which would be processed here. Had the state been allotted a PM MITRA mega textile park, it would have boosted the indigenous industries in line with 5F (Farm to fibre to factory to fashion to foreign) vision. Naresh Johar, a senior citizen, said Amritsar has the units of all the three wings of textiles. These are spinning, weaving, dyeing and processing. There used to be several textile machinery manufacturing units. Many of them carved out a name across the country like raising machine, rotary press, milling machine and hollow cup. Geographically, Amritsar is situated close to Himachal Pradesh where sheep wool is procured. The city has the Punjab Institute of Textile Technology to provide trained candidates in all streams of textiles. What is needed is the government’s will to translate all these available resources into success. Already, lopsided policies and an indifferent approach has dealt a heavy blow to local textile units. Dayalbagh Cotton Spinning Mill, Puttalighar, used to be a government undertaking, directly managed by the National Textile Corporation. The mill along with Dhariwal Woollen Mill was declared sick due to the failure of the government to modernise their machinery. Similarly, there were 163 processing units functional here in 2000. Only 33 have now survived.
Source: Tribune India
Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Sunday said the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park will generate over 3 lakh jobs in Telangana. Speaking at an event, Reddy said, “The central government under the leadership of Narendra Modi has decided to establish seven mega textile parks. The PM has decided to set up one of the seven parks in Telangana. It is going to bring a great advantage to the textile industry in Telangana. The training, exports and other value-added activity of the mini textile activities will be increased.” The Union Minister said the Central government is investing around Rs 4,400 crore in the textile parks. The Telangana textile park will get more than Rs 10,000 crore of investments. and more than 2 lakh indirect jobs to the people of Telangana, Reddy said. He said the Centre is fully committed to the development of Telangana in all fields including national highways, railways, textile, agriculture, employment generation, investment, IT and others. The central government on Friday announced the sites for setting up of seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks for the Textile industry. According to the Ministry of Textiles, the Parks will come up in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. According to the Ministry of Textiles, PM MITRA Parks represent a unique model where the Centre and State Governments will work together to increase investment, promote innovation, create job opportunities and ultimately make India a global hub for textile manufacturing and exports. Nearly Rs 70,000 crore investment and 20 lakhs employment generation is envisaged through these parks. “Telangana government is spreading the wrong message against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Narendra Modi. However, the Telangana government is spreading the wrong message against the central gover Narendra Modi. The people of Telangana will not accept these baseless allegations. The BJP candidate has won in teachers’ constituency MLC elections by defeating Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) recently. This has proved that the BJP has the support of the people of Telangana in the coming days,” Reddy said. On the allegations made by BRS MLC K Kavitha in the Supreme Court, the Union Minister said, “It is baseless. I ask the KCR family, why have you gone to Delhi leaving Hyderabad? You came to Delhi to do liquor business. The liquor business is also an illegal business. You have done a scandal in the liquor business. Your family has done illegal things and your family has earned crores of rupees. Neither the central government nor the BJP has anything to do with it.” He said Enforcement Directorate (ED) will conduct investigations on the allegation of corruption that have come up. Kavitha, who is the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has approached the Supreme court saying that as per norms, a woman cannot be summoned for questioning before ED in office and her questioning should take place at her residence.
Source: Tribune India
The government of India has approved the development of seven large textile parks across the country to transform the emerging Asian economy into a global hub for textile manufacturing and exports. The planned projects, part of what New Delhi called the PM Mitra scheme, will be located in seven states: Virudhunagar, in Tamil Nadu; Warangal, in Telangana; Kalaburagi, in Karnataka; Amravati, in Maharashtra; Navsari, in Gujarat; Dhar, in Madhya Pradesh; and Lucknow, in Uttar Pradesh. “State governments will provide contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcels of at least 1,000 acres, and will also facilitate provision of all utilities,” said the union ministry of textiles. “The parks will offer an excellent infrastructure, plug and play facilities as well as training and research facilities for the industry,” it added. Naren Goenka, chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, said the new, modern textile parks would be a “one-stop solution” to cover spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing and stitching activities. “This [integrated infrastructure] will drastically reduce logistics costs and make the apparel sector globally competitive in a true sense by integrating the value chain, creating economies of scale and making Indian garment exports environmental, social and governancecompliant,” he told The Loadstar. “These mega-textiles parks will create global champions by enhancing apparel exports exponentially and creating massive employment opportunities, to the tune of two million.” A Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, added: “The modern industrial infrastructure will significantly reduce logistics costs and improve competitiveness of our textile exports with access to state-of-the-art technology. India has a distinct advantage in the textile sector with abundance of natural fibres, skilled manpower and competitive wages.” The government said it would spend some $550m to develop the textile parks, with local state authorities asked to provide other basic infrastructure requirements, including adequate land and power supply, in addition to “conducive, pro-industry policy frameworks” to encourage investment flows. Government officials believe creating superior production infrastructure will help drive significant foreign direct investment, estimated at some $8.5bn. According to industry sources, the production capacity of each site is being evaluated. India had been somewhat slow to capitalise on the sourcing shift from China towards South-east Asia, an opportunity quickly seized by Vietnam and Bangladesh to grow alternative apparel markets. Still, Indian ready-made garment (RMG) exports have seen respectable traction in recent months, as trade diversification within Asia gathered steam because of geopolitical reasons. According to the latest industry data, the value of Indian RMG exports in the first 11 months of fiscal 2022-23 (April to February) grew 3.5% to some $15bn. With increased investment and policy reforms, New Delhi is looking to boost apparel exports to $100bn by 2030, a push that could become a powerful tailwind for India-US trade ocean carriers, which have significantly expanded capacity and service networks in recent months.
Source: The Loadstar.com
With more countries expected to accept rupee payments for settling some of their trade with India, the government is hopeful that the volume of transactions through the rupee will gather pace over a period of time and help ease pressure on foreign exchange reserves. So far, approvals have been granted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to domestic and foreign authorised dealer banks in 60 cases for the opening of Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) of correspondent banks from 18 countries, namely Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and United Kingdom. “A bilateral beginning has been made with these countries to trade in our own currencies and over a period of time the volumes will pick up,” a senior official told FE. Besides saving precious forex reserves and reducing reliance on currencies such as the US dollar and Euro, increased bilateral transactions in the rupee will save in currency conversion fees for traders also. Bilateral capital flows in local currencies will aid India’s long-term goal of internationalisation of the rupee as well. “Discussions are happening with United Arab Emirates (UAE) for settling bilateral trade in our respective currencies (Rupee-Dirham) for imports and exports,” the official said. UAE is the third largest trading partner of India after the US and China. In FY22, India-UAE bilateral trade stood at about $73 billion. In the first half of the current financial year, the bilateral trade was at $44 billion. “India imports and export a lot and also gets a lot of remittances from the Gulf countries. So, it becomes much easier to transact in the local currency rather than going to a third-country currency like the US dollar or Euro,” the official said. India’s foreign exchange reserves fell $2.4 billion to $560 billion for the week ended March 10, their lowest since early December. The RBI has allowed invoicing and payments for international trade in Indian Rupee through a circular dated August 11, 2022. It has put in place the arrangement to promote the growth of global trade with emphasis on exports from India and to support the increasing interest of the global trading community in the rupee. The framework put in place by RBI is that for the opening of SRVAs, banks of partner countries may approach authorized dealer banks in India which may seek approval from RBI with details of the arrangement.
Source: Financial Express
INTERNATIONAL
German-based testing device manufacturer emtec Electronic will present the TSA Tactile Sensation Analyzer at the Techtextil North America from May 10-12, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Leipzig, Germany, 20.03.2023 – Innovation will be a central aspect of this year’s Techtextil North America trade fair, the only show dedicated to technical textiles and nonwovens on the continent. The event showcases innovative solutions across all vertical aspects of the industry, including research and development, raw materials, production, quality assurance, conversion, treatment, and recycling. Leipzig-based manufacturer of specialized testing and measuring equipment emtec Electronic will be onsite at the event to present a data-driven approach to objectively measuring the feel and comfort of textile and nonwoven products. With the TSA Tactile Sensation Analyzer, it is possible for manufacturers to scientifically measure the subjective haptic parameters that define human perception, digitize the findings, and use the results to consistently reproduce the desired haptic qualities from anywhere in the world. Originating in the tissue paper industry under the name Tissue Softness Analyzer, the TSA has since become an established industry standard for haptic measurement worldwide. Its measuring principles and practical application have been featured in a Technical Information Paper (TIP 0808-07 (2021) from the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI). “Our expertise in haptic measurement of tissue has allowed us to innovate and expand our test spectrum to serve the textile and nonwovens sectors,” says Alexander Gruener, Global Sales and Business Development Manager of emtec. “Now it is possible to measure not only softness, smoothness, and flexibility of a material, but also its elasticity, plasticity, and cushion characteristics. From these parameters, our software derives an objective overall hand-feel value that corresponds nearly 100 percent to the preferences of hand testers.” Visitors to the Techtextil North America can learn more about how to leverage objective data on haptic measurement by visiting the emtec booth No. 2537 and speaking with experts Alexander Gruener and the partners from Technidyne of Industrial Physics.
Source: Textile World
Alchemie Technology is the latest fast-rising company to join the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA), as all of the organization’s members gear up to showcase an array of new innovations at ITMA 2023 in Milan from June 8-14 this year. Cambridge-headquartered Alchemie is the inventor of two ground breaking technologies – Endeavour™ and Novara™. The Endeavour digital dyeing system produces no wastewater and reduces water consumption by up to 95% compared to traditional dyeing. The virtually waterless process delivers dyed fabric with high colour consistency and colour fastness and does not require post dyeing washing steps which leads to an energy reduction up to 85%. It can deliver any colour shade required and enables on-demand digital colour changeovers in any run length, from a few metres to several kilometres. Similar energy savings can be achieved with the Novara precision finishing system which utilises a nozzle array to deliver finishing chemistry with millimetre resolution. Finishing chemistries penetrate deeply into the fabric due to the combination of high velocity liquid jetting and precisely-controlled vacuum and textile finishes are applied only where needed, reducing chemistry usage and enabling multi-functionality. In the past year, Alchemie, backed by Swedish fashion giant H&M, has established a first demonstration hub at customer JSRTEX in Taiwan. It is now progressing plans to set up further centres at customer sites around the world. “The textile manufacturing industry has a significant impact on the environment, and with our Endeavour, waterless, low energy dyeing and Novara, low energy textile finishing technologies, we are disrupting manufacturing processes that are responsible for over 3% of global CO2 emissions and 20% of global water pollution,” says Alchemie founder and CEO Dr Alan Hudd. “Our solutions both dramatically reduce the environmental impact and the cost of dyeing and finishing, which has proven to be a compelling combination.” “The time for Alchemie’s technologies is surely now,” adds BTMA CEO Jason Kent. “International brands and textile producers from around the world have been flocking to see these new highly automated and sustainable technologies in action we’re very pleased to welcome Alchemie to the association. We’re also really looking forward to rewarding discussions in Milan about the range of new sustainable solutions our members will be introducing at ITMA 2023 – from technologies for the production of fibres to those for finished products.”
Source: Textile World
The OTB and GOTS formed a partnership at the end of 2020 and worked together throughout to understand how firms can raise awareness and sales of proven certified organic textile products. In March 2022, the partnership led to the formation of a textile group within the OTB comprising OTB members such as Bamford, Greenfibres, My Little Green Wardrobe and Natracare, The OTB Textile Group, along with GOTS and other operators, will spearhead the consumer campaign, which aims to educate on textiles certified to Global Organic Textile Standards and increase awareness and sales in the sector. Organic Textile Week takes place in May 2023. The OTB strongly believes that working together is the best way to reach common goals and will keep welcoming operators that want to join the OTB Textile Group and help shape the campaign.
GOTS rolls out version 7.0 with crucial upgrades
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) has released Version 7.0 which provides a comprehensive solution for companies wanting to produce organic textiles ensuring compliance with environmental and human rights due diligence across the entire supply chain.GOTS Version 7.0 introduces new requirements to conduct risk-based due diligence of Certified Entities’ own operations and their supply chains based on the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the OECD guidelines. New due diligence criteria ensures that Certified Entities address their actual and potential negative impacts on human rights and the environment. GOTS Environmental Criteria, Product Stewardship, and Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) requirements will also apply to the subcontractors of chemical formulators. Quinoline is included among the prohibited substances and some existing restrictions have been made tighter such as of “aniline, free”, residue limit is decreased to 20 mg/kg from 100 mk/kg. GOTS 7.0 reduces the permissible quantity of recycled synthetic (polymer) fibres in its certified products, taking into account the disadvantages associated with recycled synthetics, such as microplastics and poor quality. In the pursuit of circularity, GOTS will allow use of recycled GOTS goods waste as an additional fibre in its certified products. GOTS Human Rights and Social Criteria will now require Certified Entities to respect internationally recognised human rights protocols, including the International Bill of Human Rights and other international human rights treaties. Certified Entities are now required to develop a plan to cover the living wage gap. Rahul Bhajekar, GOTS managing co-director, said: “GOTS Version 7.0 represents a major leap forward for processing organic textiles. The new revision process was the most inclusive in GOTS history, with over 600 inputs received during two public consultation periods. Version 7.0 offers solutions for creating truly responsible supply chains, setting a benchmark for the textile industry. I am proud of the progress made that will advance sustainable textile processing practices worldwide.” Revision of the GOTS document is a regular year-long process involving multiple international stakeholders with expertise in organic production, textile processing, textile chemistry, human rights and social criteria, as well as representatives from industry, NGOs and civil society organisations. The organisation said that after the transition period GOTS Version 7.0 will be fully effective as of 1 March 2024.
Source: Just-style.com
Kantamanto Market, a secondhand exchange in Accra, Ghana, has piles of clothing taller than the people walking through it. When the wind picks up, T-shirts whirl around the seemingly endless rows of clothes, most of which have been discarded and donated from Canada, the United States, and Europe. It’s impossible to know the exact amount of clothing in the world, but between social media hauls, overwhelmed secondhand markets, and textile-burdened landfills, all signs indicate that we have too much. Still, more than 100 billion new pieces are created every year, and many will meet the same sad fate as those flying T-shirts. That’s why the call for a circular fashion industry is getting louder than ever. Circularity is “the concept that we can produce goods that cause no harm to the planet in manufacturing and that all parts can be reused, with no virgin resource extraction at the start,” explains Rachel Kibbe, CEO and founder of consulting service Circular Services Group, adding that it’s an ideal and not a solid set of standards. “It means striving to produce with as little harm to people and the planet as possible,” she says. Circularity takes the goal beyond sustainability, meaning that every moment along the way, from the beginning of the loop (the way a garment is produced) to the end of an item’s life (how it will be recycled or repurposed, starting the cycle again), must be thought out in advance by brands. Gucci is one of the brands partnering with a third-party reseller to encourage closed-loop design. Long before “reduce/reuse/recycle” was a constant refrain, circularity was prized in Indigenous cultures, whose people thought about the life cycles of objects and how they could reduce harm to the environment. While the concept isn’t new, nor even a solution for clothing waste alone, there is a unique opportunity in fashion. For starters, there is already a popular structure that is an integral part of circularity, which thousands of us use regularly: resale. E-commerce platforms like ThredUP, Poshmark, and Depop have extended the lives of millions of items. Alexander McQueen and Gucci have linked up with third-party resellers Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal, respectively, to encourage customers to keep products in the loop. Some labels, like Oscar de la Renta, have done this on their own, launching brand-specific resale platforms to keep the pieces out of landfills and donation bins. There’s also the fact that many textiles, unlike plastic, can be broken down and made new over and over. “The ideal future state of circularity is fiber-to-fiber recycled garments—e.g., turning cotton shirts back into cotton yarn that can be used to make new garments,” says Stuart Ahlum, co-founder of sneaker brand Thousand Fell and recycling program SuperCircle. With SuperCircle, customers can download a shipping label and mail in their used garments, which will then be broken down into new fiber. (Brands like Reformation have begun using this technology to lessen the environmental impact of their clothing.) Despite these advancements, there is still a significant shift that has to happen with anyone making new clothes. Nemanthie Kooragamage, director of group sustainable business at MAS Holdings, a manufacturer of brands like Patagonia and Lululemon, explains, “For anything to be truly circular, the product must be designed for reuse.” Designers could tap technology like QR codes and blockchain to allow digital tracing of a product’s entire life cycle, identifying knots in the supply chain and keeping brands accountable. And they could encourage resale before a garment is made, by using textiles and design practices that are easier to break down or upcycle. So what can shoppers do to contribute to fashion’s new circular model? Outside of reselling clothes, most circularity advocates agree that it boils down to this: “Make fewer purchases,” Kibbe says. “If someone decides to purchase an item, whether it’s used or new, they should love it enough to pass it on to another person when it no longer serves them.”
Source: The elle.com
The apparel industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions. The annual amount of fiber production reached 113 million tons in 2021 and the demand is increasing every year. However, almost 90% of post-consumer fiber wastes are disposed of through incineration or deposition in landfills. Among these forms of waste, synthetic fiber has become a major threat to the environment and human health because, similar to other plastics, it is not biodegradable. Due to its low cost and durability, polyester is the most widely used synthetic fiber on the planet, accounting for more than half of all fabrics annually produced. Comprehensive recycling of polyester is thus a critical challenge for environmental sustainability and the health of future generations. In practice, crude textile waste is not suitable for reuse or recycling because it is mixed with different fabric materials, colored by different dyes, and contaminated by various other impurities. Sorting it into homogeneous materials is necessary to make the waste recyclable by a chemical or mechanical method. To this end, a research team at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has developed a new chemical technology referred to as "chemical sorting." Their study is published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. This technology is applied to separate polyester from waste textiles that are disposed of in a mixed and contaminated form. In the process, a unique chemical compound, which selectively disrupts the chemical interaction between polyester and the dye used for its color, is used for the separation. The research team has also developed a new chemical recycling technology that consumes less energy than conventional methods to convert polyester into valuable monomers, which can be repeatedly used for the synthesis of polymer materials. Postconsumer clothes, made up of various materials with unknown compositions, are often discarded. They commonly comprise a variety of textiles such as cotton, wool, polyester, acrylic, nylon, elastane, and other blended fibers. Recycling cannot be achieved without sorting them into individual materials because of their incompatible chemical and physical properties. Industrially, the separation of individual materials from waste fabrics is accomplished by manual sorting, largely depending on human labor. This method has low accuracy and is unreliable and in turn fails to collect homogeneous materials, which is often critical for further steps of recycling. Recently, studies to develop an automatic sorting machine employ hyperspectral imaging technologies to acquire structural information of individual fabric targets. However, the sorting system still remains far from commercialization, mainly due to technical and economic barriers. The KRICT research team adopted an inexpensive and non-toxic biodegradable compound to chemically discriminate polyester from a mixture of waste fabrics. When the compound is applied to textiles, colorants only present in polyester are completely extracted while no significant changes occur in other materials. As a consequence, clean polyester can be separated from the mixture of colored fabrics. The method can be applied to select polyester from an uncolored fabric mixture as well. When uncolored fabric comes into contact with the waste colorants extracted from the sorting process, only polyester accepts the colorants while the other materials remain unchanged. As a consequence, the fabrics containing only polyester can be separated from mixed fabric waste in an inexpensive, accurate, and facile manner. The resulting sorted polyester can be used as clean feedstock for chemical recycling because the sorting method eliminates most organic impurities including intractable dyes. Chemical recycling, which converts polymer waste into the original building blocks, has the potential to achieve circularity in recycling of polyester wastes whereas mechanical recycling can be used to produce only low quality material. In the conventional chemical recycling method, a high reaction temperature of above 200℃ is required to completely decompose polyester. Furthermore, energy-intensive purification steps are also inevitable in most commercial applications to obtain a high quality monomer product. The KRICT research team has developed a low-temperature glycolysis reaction system to convert chemically sorted waste polyester into pure bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terepthalate, which is an important building block monomer to produce new polymers. Monomer compounds obtained from the chemical recycling have quality equivalent to that derived from petroleum. Since the same compound as that used in "chemical sorting" functions as an additive to lower the energy barrier of depolymerization, the reaction system can be easily and economically integrated with the chemical sorting technology for applications involving plastic or textile recycling where there is high demand for good product quality. Dr. Cho said, "Recently, the garment industry has utilized transparent and clean post-consumer PET bottles to produce recycled polyester clothes. However, this method is not sustainable because the material cannot be repeatedly recycled. In contrast, our current technology would not be limited by the complexity of the constituent materials or the initial level of impurity in the waste. Whether the targeted materials are derived from petroleum directly or recycled from waste, the technology can repeatedly process most post-consumer textile streams. Thus it will help reduce waste in landfills and substantially achieve a circular economy in the plastic and textile industries." The chemical recycling technology has been licensed to Renew System Co., Ltd. (South Korea). Multidisciplinary R&D teams are now closely working together to build multi-scale facilities for the chemical recycling of waste clothing. A demonstration plant will be ready by the end of 2024 and commercial operation with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons is planned to start in 2025.
Source: The phys.org
490 exhibiting companies are already confirmed to participate at FESPA Global Print Expo, European Sign Expo and Personalisation Experience 2023, including 95 suppliers who were unable to attend the events in the last two years due to travel restrictions, including DP Solutions, eurolaser, INX, Lüscher Technologies, Marabu, SPS TechnoScreen, Vastex International and Vivid Laminating Technologies. The line-up also features 78 new exhibitors, including Aerolam Decoratives, CarbonQuota, Duveholm Stallbacken, Magon, Newtown Packaging, Ronchini Massimo, Scandinavian Print Group, Toscana Systems and XEIKON. Visitors to FESPA Global Print Expo 2023 will see solutions from event sponsors Durst, Surfex, Brother, Mimaki, Hanglory and HP and hardware from leading suppliers including AGFA, Aeoon, Aleph, Canon, Epson, Fujifilm, HP, Kongsberg, Liyu, MHM, Sakurai, Swissqprint, Ricoh, Roland, ROQ and Zünd. Confirmed automation and workflow software suppliers include Caldera, efi, Enfocus BV, OneVision and PrintFactory. Ahlstrom Munksjö, APA, Hexis, ImagePerfect/Berger Textiles, InkTec, Neschen, ORAFOL, Poli-Tape and Sun Chemical are also among the companies presenting media and consumables. Head of FESPA Global Print Expo, Michael Ryan comments: “Exhibitors who haven’t been able to participate in FESPA events in the last few years can’t wait to share their innovations and expertise with our visitors. And we know that printers benefit hugely from being able to see products from many suppliers in one place, helping them to compare and evaluate the right investments for their business. Our mission this year is to give valuable new perspectives to printers and signmakers. With the strongest line-up of FESPA exhibitors since 2019, we can guarantee that visitors to Munich in May will be in the best place to get the insight and advice they need to overcome their production challenges, access new opportunities and imagine their business future.” Christoph Gamper, CEO & Co-Owner, Durst comments: “Whereas there was a strong focus on faster production in recent years, digital printing is now no longer the new kid on the block. The emphasis is now on automation, efficiency, and an overall sustainable process in the various digital printing applications. We are pleased to have FESPA in our ‘neighbourhood’ this year and look forward to a lively exchange of applications and unique views, celebrating achievements and discussing new perspectives. The best ideas are born in dialogue, and FESPA offers the ideal setting.” European Sign Expo 2023, the leading European exhibition for signage and visual communications, will be co-located with FESPA Global Print Expo. With the support of Platinum Sponsor EFKA, the event will reunite key signage professionals with companies specialising in channel lettering, digital signage, dimensional signage, engraving and etching, illuminated displays, out of home media, LED, outdoor systems, laser cutters and sign tools. The brand new Personalisation Experience will give visitors the opportunity to learn more about personalisation, with specialist suppliers including Antigro, Brother, Dreamscape, Infigo, Optimus, Printbox, Print & Logistics, Taopix and XMPie showcasing products and solutions. Registration for FESPA Global Print Expo, European Sign Expo and Personalisation Experience is now live. Entry to all three exhibition areas is free for members of a FESPA national Association or FESPA Direct. The ticket price is €30.00 for non-members who preregister using code FESM306 before 23rd March. A four-day pass for the Personalisation Experience conference area will be priced at €495. Tickets to the PE conference are €225 for visitors who register before March 23rd using code PEX1.
Source: Textile World
