Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said it was a misinformation campaign run by some that his government was after the industry with a stick in its hand. Modi said his government’s action against the corrupt and dishonest had been wrongly portrayed by some as the government being tough on the industry. Modi was speaking at a centenary year celebration event of the Kirloskar Brothers Ltd in the Capital. He said his government had taken all steps to remove obstacles and difficulties in the path of the industry, created a better business environment, and that his government has tried to be a “companion” of the industry rather than an obstacle. Before speaking at this event, Modi met a group of 11 top business leaders earlier in the day and held an extensive interaction with them to discuss ways to improve growth and job creation. Among those who met the PM included Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Sunil Mittal, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Anil Agarwal and Anand Mahindra. At the Kirloskar event, Modi said the $5-trillion economy “is a milestone, while our dreams, expectations, and targets are even bigger”. “Today, when there is much talk about the world economy and our own growth rate, I am saying with complete conviction and confidence over our industry that you (corporates) have the self-belief to get over any challenge. In the New Year, I would like to tell the corporate world to not let disappointment come near you. You should move ahead with new energy and whichever part of the country you want to go for expansion, the government will stand by you. The new decade should be of the Indian entrepreneurs,” Modi said. Modi also said his government’s mantra was “reform with intent, perform with integrity, transform with intensity, process-driven and professional governance” and said his government had “understood difficulties of industrialists and tried to remove them”. He said the reforms like GST or with regard to PSU banks had also been brought to remove obstacles in way of industrialists. He said the government had tried to build an atmosphere in which industrialists can create wealth for themselves as well as for the country in a transparent atmosphere free of fear or obstacles. He said the IBC must have saved the future of many industrialists and said the provisions were brought with the thought in mind that in some circumstances, quitting a business was good and it was not necessary that there would be a conspiracy behind a company not being successful. He said a new system was being brought to remove all human interface between a tax-payer and the tax department and said corporate tax rates in India were the lowest in the country right now. The Prime Minister also said that a change had come by way of many young industrialists entering the corporate world with new business models and in different parts of the country. “Once it was said that the Mumbai Club represents India’s industry. If today, some such club is formed, it should be called the ‘Bharat Club’ to give representation to veteran and new entrepreneurs from across the country. This will be a good example of the changing business culture of India,” he said. Modi also cited the “success stories” of the UJALA and UPI schemes and said he desired for such success stories from all sectors from the industry.
Source: Economic Times
India may soon have a shopping festival on the lines of Dubai shopping festival to uplift consumer sentiment if Prime Minister Narendra Modi decides to implement the suggestion made by the textile industry recently. Modi had invited 11 representatives from the textile sector at his residence on December 26 to get to know the ground realities of the industry. The closed-door meeting with the PM had representatives from the textile trade, yarn and spinning, exports, fabric and apparel brands. Low consumer sentiment due to the overall economic slump was a key concern put forth by the retail and brand representatives at the two-hour interaction. “We suggested introducing a countrywide festival in summer on the lines of shopping festivals in Dubai and Singapore to uplift low consumer sentiment that has directly impacted our business,” said Sanjay Vakharia, a delegate and the CEO of Indian denim maker Spykar Lifestyles. Traditionally, the popular shopping period in India is structured around the festive season that comes with the onset of winter with the spotlight on Diwali. Summer season does not witness much spending and consumption in fashion retail. “Spring-summer is quite a sedate period because of school holidays. A shopping festival during summer will help us generate business,” said Vakharia. He added that while it was a macro-level discussion to apprise the PM, Modi acknowledged his awareness of the shopping festival in Dubai and lent an ear. “It was the first time that the highest person of the establishment heard us out which made us believe that good things are in the offing,” added Vakharia. Other delegates at this interaction included retail business leaders such as Sanjay Lalbhai of Arvind Limited, Harish Ahuja of Shahi Exports, Darshan Lal Sharma of Vardhaman Mills, Siddharth Bindra from Biba and members of the Tirupur Exporters Association.
Source: Economic Times
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the meeting of experts at the Niti Aayog on January 9 and is likely to discuss the state of economy. The meeting will also be attended by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant and other senior officials of the think tank. "The prime minister will come to Niti Aayog on Thursday," a senior government official told PTI. The meeting assumes important as the government is in the process of formulating Budget proposals for 2020-21. Modi on Monday interacted with top business tycoons to discuss issues facing the economy and measures needed to boost growth and create jobs. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her second Union Budget on February 1 with an eye to reviving growth. The latest GDP data for the July-September quarter showed a significant further moderation in the pace of economic growth to 4.5 per cent -- the weakest in six years, with a key contributory factor being a slump in manufacturing output. The Modi government has undertaken a number of measures to arrest the growth slowdown. In September 2019, it announced a cut in the corporate tax rate to 22 per cent from 30 per cent. The government also lowered the tax rate for new manufacturing companies to 15 per cent to attract new foreign direct investments. The tax rate reductions bring India in line with rates in other Asian countries. The government''s other initiatives include bank recapitalisation, the mergers of 10 public sector banks into four, support for the auto sector, plans for infrastructure spending, as well as tax benefits for startups. But experts say none of these measures directly address the widespread weakness in consumption demand, which has been the chief driver of the economy. Also, financial sector fragilities continue to weigh on the economic growth momentum, with the high level of non-performing loans on the balance-sheets of the public sector banks, constraining their fresh lending. Furthermore, there are also risks from potential contagion effects from troubled non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) to the balance-sheets of some commercial banks, which could further weigh on the overall pace of credit expansion. In response to the growth slowdown, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased policy rates significantly during 2019, with a series of rate cuts since February 2019. Further stimulus measures are expected in the upcoming Budget where the focus is likely to be on reforms, including some structural measures such as reducing red tape and boosting foreign direct investment. The Monday''s meeting with industrialists is in the series of discussions that Modi has had during the last couple of weeks to seek suggestions to revive growth. In the previous meetings, he met Kotak Mahindra Bank CEO Uday Kotak, State Bank of India head Rajnish Kumar, HDFC Bank managing director Aditya Puri, IT industry veteran TV Mohandas Pai; former finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia; Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani, Intel India general manager Nivruti Rai and Tata Consultancy Services chief executive Rajesh Gopinath. Modi has so far met over 60 entrepreneurs and businessmen from sectors such as FMCG, finance, renewable energy, diamond, retail, textiles, MSMEs and startups and technology.
Source: Outlook India
Developed countries apply three times more technical barriers than developing nations. India is one of the most unregulated markets among major trading countries, with regulations on less than 10 per cent of its national tariff lines. Compared to India’s 452 technical and sanitary standards notifications, the US has 8,105 notifications, China has a total of 2,900 notifications, Brazil has 3,913 notifications, the EU has 2,974 notifications; while Australia has 888 notifications in place, according to figures compiled by the Commerce Ministry. Now, the government is working on new standards to redress the situation. It is considering 252 new technical regulations on items such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals, toys, footwear, sports good, telecom equipment and industrial equipment, which will apply on both imports and domestic manufacture, according to a government official. “New technical regulations on 252 items are being considered by the Centre to be framed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The Commerce Ministry is talking to different line ministries, including Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, MeitY, Heavy Industry and DPIIT, and also specific regulators. Work has already been initiated on 67 items,” the official said.
Decreasing tariffs
While tariffs have been dropping across the world due to trade liberalisation, many countries have replaced these with non-tariff measures in the form of sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) norms and technical barriers to trade (TBT). Developed countries, which have very low average tariffs on goods, use thrice as many TBT measures as developing nations, according to Commerce Ministry figures. But India’s SPS and TBT measures are among the lowest compared even with its neighbouring South Asian and South-East Asian countries. India has in place just 172 TBTs, while China has 1,516, South Korea 1,036, Thailand 809, the Philippines 294 and Malaysia 267. India’s SPS notifications are 261, while Thailand has notified measures on 387 items, the Philippines on 583, South Korea on 777, and China on 1,332 items.
Addressing the gap
To address the regulatory gap, India’s 11,559 national tariff lines (NTLs) were analysed and 526 of the items were prioritised for the formulation of technical regulations. A ‘focus class’ of 371 tariff lines (accounting for 26 per cent of total imports valued at $127 billion) was prioritised and segregated into six major categories/sectors — steel, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, heavy industry, electronics & IT, telecom and DPIIT. After an analysis of the items, it was concluded that on about 25 items no technical regulation was required while on 94, regulations were already formulated.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
According to information currently available, China and the US may sign the phase one agreement arising from their trade negotiations. The trade war initiated by the US will be eased. Although trade between China and the US will not return to the original pattern, 2020 will undoubtedly be a crucial year for China to expand its export market and, at the same time, increase its import sources. We have seen that the efforts of Chinese companies have brought positive results. According to official data, the proportion of China's imports and exports with emerging markets increased 1.7 percentage points to 59.5 percent of China's total trade volume in the first 11 months of 2019. This situation will help India expand its exports to China. China-India trade has been affected by the trade war during the past year. According to Chinese statistics, from January to September 2019, China-India trade was $69.66 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3 percent. Breaking the total down, China's exports to India stood at $56.31 billion, a reduction of 2.7 percent, while imports from India were $13.35 billion, down 4.1 percent. India's trade deficit with China reached $42.96 billion. India urgently needs to expand exports to China. It's become a vital issue in bilateral relations. In terms of Indian exports to China, mineral products, chemical products and textiles are the top three categories. In 2018, India exported $5.03 billion worth of mineral products, $3.63 billion of chemical and $1.84 billion of textiles, and these three products accounted for 63.6 percent of India's exports to China. China imports many raw materials, mostly for use in manufacturing, which generate a large number of export products. Since the outbreak of the trade war, China's export to the US have been affected by increased tariffs. That in turn has forced Chinese manufacturers to reduce their imports of raw materials from India. This situation will ease in 2020, primarily as China's efforts to expand export and import diversification improve. In the past year, China's exports to many regions, including Asia, Europe and Africa, have all grown. Therefore, in the foreseeable future, these three types of products will remain China's main imports from India and have the potential to expand. According to the India-based Economic Times, India may increase the export of 20 products to China, including electrical equipment, aircraft parts, engines and other automotive parts, benzene, frozen boneless beef, and ferroalloys. At present, China's annual import demand for these 20 products may reach $82 billion, while India can only meet 3.3 percent of the total demand, or $2.7 billion. India can significantly reduce its trade deficit with China by exporting more of these items. India has considerable potential for reducing its trade deficit with China, as we can see from Made-in-China products sold on the Indian market. Most of them are low- and mid-range products. India can make these things itself. India may need more investment to build factories to make those items, and many Chinese manufacturers have tried to transfer their factories abroad in the past several years. The key is whether India can provide more favorable policies for them. This cooperation will enable Chinese consumers to buy more Indian-made products in the future, just as Vietnam-made shoes are now on the Chinese market. In the coming year, India should also find ways to attract more foreign direct investment to build its labor-intensive industries and reinforce its connection to the global manufacturing chain. This should be an important policy direction for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
Source: Global Times
Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister Piyush Goyal today inaugurated the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge Hub in New Delhi, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered learning ecosystem that will assist the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. Speaking on this occasion Commerce & Industry Minister said that although India has developed as the second largest fintech hub in the world, a lot of work still needs to be done in the BFSI sector. He hoped that the Knowledge Hub created by NSE will fill in these gaps and help the financial sector to move into the future. The NSE Knowledge Hub will enhance skills and help academic institutions in preparing future-ready talent for the financial service industry. It is also available on mobile and attempts to bring together world class content and learners through this state- of- the- art and future- ready platform. Commerce and Industry Minister said that this industry driven learning eco systemwill help India in building next generation skills and capabilities in the BFSI sector. The use of AI will ensure that the skill upgradation is affordable and accessible and helps in the creation of a workforce that is adequate for the requirements of the sector said Piyush Goyal. AI and Machine Learning will contribute USD 1 trillion by 2035 and this is a good beginning by NSE to tap the potential of AI and use it as a tool to create a workforce in the BFSI sector in India added the Minister. Commerce and Industry Minister assured continued Government support to investors and startups and said that India is a safe investment destination today for investors, even the smallest of investors and this Knowledge Hub by NSE will strengthen and empower those working in the BFSI sector and will benefit investors and the financial services to give world class services through knowledge, innovation and value- addition.
Source: PIB
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to India in October 2019 was a positive step in the relationship between India and Bangladesh and the biggest highlight of relations between Delhi and Dhaka in 2019.Despite some pending issues, at present, Indo-Bangla relations are at their historical best. The two countries must build on this and move forward. The seven pacts and three projects that were signed and finalised during the visit of PM Hasina highlight the transformation of the relationship between the two countries. India and Bangladesh are now a model of good neighbourliness —the agreement to supply gas to Tripura, and the use of the Chattogram and Mongla ports to serve the north-east states is a result of the goodwill between the two countries. The agreement for a skill development centre in Bangladesh to train the youth is another example of strong ties. The main aspects of the India-Bangladesh Joint Statement during the official visit of Prime Minister of Bangladesh to India on 5 October, 2019 are efforts on border security and management, and how both countries are working towards a win-win partnership. These points include closer coordination between border forces to bring down the loss of civilian lives; simplifying people-people movement and entry/exit in checkpoints at Akhaura (Tripura) and Ghojadanga (West Bengal); closer cooperation against extremist and radical groups, terrorists, smugglers, smuggling of fake currency, and organized crime; a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, discussions on Integrated Check Posts; enhancing cooperation in the area of disaster management; withdrawal of port restrictions traded through Akhaura-Agartala port; discussions on anti-dumping / anti-circumvention duties imposed on multiple products, including on just products, from Bangladesh to India; and increasing the number of Border Haats to 12. Other efforts such as to boost connectivity over all through the BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement, and to strengthen railways, buses and flights connectivity; the signing and implementation of the Framework of Interim Agreement for sharing of the Teesta waters; an early start of the work on withdrawal of 1.82 cusec of water from Feni River for drinking purpose of the people of Sabroom town of Tripura; harnessing defence cooperation; consolidating development cooperation; energy cooperation; education and youth exchanges; cultural cooperation; and joint efforts to assist forcibly displaced persons from the Rakhine State of Myanmar. Other highlights of 2019 was PM Hasina’s visit to Kolkata for the Test match and new Indian Foreign Minister’s visit to Dhaka after taking charge. Bangladesh President attended PM Narendra Modi’s swearing in ceremony in May 2019. Apart from this there were several high level visits between the militaries of the two countries. In 2019 India has agreed to train Bangladeshi bureaucrats. Bangladesh is in the process establishing a Deputy High Commission in Chennai. In her recent trip to India, PM Hasina has also indicated her willingness to invite Indian investment to Bangladesh to construct pipelines for LNG. Bangladesh is all set to graduate out of the Least Developing Countries. India’s continued partnership with Bangladesh benefits both countries. New Delhi must keep up the partnership that allows for economic growth and improved developmental parameters for both countries. The strong mutually beneficial partnership between India and Bangladesh must deliver on its promise. It is welcome that the government has assured Bangladesh that the National Register of Citizens will not affect Bangladesh. It is important to address specific issues like Teesta and to respond to Dhaka’s call for help on the Rohingya issue. Bangladesh, with a population of 160 million (eighth most populous country in the world), has achieved 7-8 percent growth in recent times. The country will also be eligible to graduate to developing status from its Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2024, and with a huge market. Prime Minister Hasina who has asserted her strength to handle complex issues far better than her predecessors. PM Hasina banned the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party. Under her leadership, Bangladesh set up an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspects for the genocide committed in 1971, in which 3 million people were killed. PM Hasina prosecuted those who aided Pakistanis and massacred intellectuals. In 2019 PM Hasina also took strong steps against terrorists who attacked Holy Artisan Bakery. Efforts to eliminate JMB which aims to create an Islamic state have been strengthened. In this context, it is noteworthy that the Supreme Court upheld secularism as a state principle within the constitution in 2010. PM Hasina has respected rulings of the Maritime Boundary Arbitrations, and positive steps have been taken with PM Singh and PM Modi to address the boundary issue. In addition, since 2017, Bangladesh has provided refuge to nearly 11 million Rohingya from Myanmar and is building homes in Cox Bazaar for them. Several steps related to social empowerment, domestic economic measures and trade by PM Hasina’s government have led to 7-8 percent economic growth. For instance, the provision of concessional duty free access has allowed the export of Bangladesh garments to overtake India and China. There has been large scale employment of women, including in the textile industry. Grameen Bank has become an international movement, and mobile banking has become popular. Bangladesh is also doing well on the Ease of Doing Business rankings. With respect to India and West Bengal, PM Hasina has strengthened mutually beneficial trade.
Source: Economic Times
Robotization in developed nations may slow down FDI into emerging economies but not into the poorest economies, finds a new study. Across the world, the rise of automation has raised concerns over its impact on employment, especially in poor countries. New research, however, suggests that these fears may be overblown. While automation will disrupt the flow of capital from rich to poorer countries, the poorest countries could actually gain from automation. In a World Bank study, Mary Hallward-Driemeier and Gaurav Nayyar use data sets on greenfield foreign direct investments (FDI) and industrial robot usage between 2004 and 2015 to investigate the relationship between automation and FDI flows. During the period, because of outsourcing, high-income countries (HICs) such as the European nations and the US, witnessed the largest FDI outflows, measured in terms of project announcements, into low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Besides, leading sectors in HICs witnessed a huge rise in automation. The authors measure automation in terms of the intensity of robot use (robots per 1,000 employees). They find that electronic and automobile sectors were the most automated while textiles was the least automated. The study finds that as automation increases, FDI flows from HICs to LMICs fall. However, encouragingly, this relationship is non-linear. A 10% increase in the intensity of robots in HICs is associated with a 5.5% increase in the growth rate of FDI flows to LMICs. But above a certain threshold of automation in HICs, FDI inflows into LMICs grow at a diminishing rate and lead to reshoring with HICs investing in their own countries. For the poorest countries, automation actually leads to greater FDI inflows, but from a smaller pool of countries. Because of this, authors argue that fears of technological advancement displacing labour may be overstated, at least for the time being.
Source: Live Mint
Private companies with total outstanding debt of Rs 100 crore or more to banks and financial institutions will now have to submit a secretarial audit report to the government, Under the previous rules, public companies with a paid-up share capital of Rs 50 crore or more or those with a turnover of Rs 250 crore or more were required to submit secretarial audit reports along with their board reports. In a move aimed at boosting the ease of doing business, the threshold for paid up capital at which private companies are required to employ a company secretary was raised from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore. A senior government official, who wished to remain anonymous, said these changes were aimed at reducing the compliance cost for companies without substantive operations and to protect public interest in the case of companies with substantial borrowings. “A number of companies that do not have substantive business operations had represented that it is onerous for them to employ a company secretary only because they have a paid up share capital of Rs 5 crore and this was raising compliance cost,” the official said. Experts said the move is a step in the right direction and would push the ease of doing business. according to a rule notified by the corporate affairs ministry on Monday. Sudan Kankani, Partner - Deloitte India said the move to increase the threshold for the appointment of a company secretary would reduce the cost of compliance for smaller companies. “This eases the burden on private companies and is a welcome move from the ease of doing business, cost and compliance perspective,” said Kankani. On the move to bring all companies with outstanding loans of Rs 100 crore or more under the ambit of secretarial audit, Kankani said: “This move will increase cost a little but will ensure better compliance by companies which have exposure to public funds.” Ankit Singhi, partner at law firm corporate professionals also said the move to bring private companies with large borrowings under the ambit of a secretarial audit was a positive move. He added that the government should consider including a requirement that company secretaries certify that borrowed funds are being utilised for their intended purpose to further strengthen compliance. Singhi also said the government should consider adding the requirement of a company secretary for companies with low paid-up capital but high turnover.
Source: Economic Times
Aiming to commercialize naturally-grown coloured cotton, a team of scientists is developing different shades of cotton through conventional methods suiting requirements of textile mills. As part of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Cotton, a team of four researchers at the BM College of Agriculture, Khandwa have developed four shades of brown cotton grown through the conventional method by mixing different wild varieties of cotton collected from across the country. They are now working on making it commercially viable by means of increased yield, strength and better size. Dr Devendra Kumar Shrivastava, plant breeder of the project said, “Traditionally we have seen and used white cotton but there are coloured varieties that are not cultivated by farmers because coloured varieties yields are less and they have poor fibre strength and length. But now we are working on enhancing the characteristics of coloured variety so that they can be commercially used.” The college had developed a variety of dark brown cotton known as JCC1 around five years ago but the variety is not in use due to poor yields and short fibre length making it unacceptable by textile mills. Researchers said fibre length of coloured cotton is around 26 mm while textile mills demand at least 28-30mm. Poor yields and chances of contamination with white cotton makes it unviable for farmers. Researchers in the project, entomologist Dr SK Parsai, agronomist Dr JP Mehta, under the guidance of BM College of Agriculture dean Dr UPS Bhadauriya are now working towards developing a strong variety of coloured cotton that can be accepted by textile mills. According to researchers, the latest coloured variety of cotton developed by the college has yielded 8 to 14 quintals /hectares while fibre length has grown to 28-32 mm.
Source: Times of India
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
1004.17 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
VSF |
1354.66 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
ASF |
2006.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Polyester POY |
1021.37 |
USD/Ton |
0.78% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Nylon FDY |
2171.75 |
USD/Ton |
0.33% |
1/7/2020 |
|
40D Spandex |
4114.15 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Nylon POY |
1275.82 |
USD/Ton |
0.56% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
2006.90 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Polyester FDY |
2193.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Nylon DTY |
1168.30 |
USD/Ton |
0.62% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2393.95 |
USD/Ton |
0.60% |
1/7/2020 |
|
Polyester DTY |
5375.63 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
1999.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1619.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2408.28 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
2164.59 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1920.89 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1763.21 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2193.26 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.27 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.97 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.53 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
1/7/2020 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14335 USD dtd. 07/01/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
European researchers have developed a pilot plant to turn textile waste into materials such as glucose, glycol or acids that can be re-used in the industrial production of bioethanols, plastics or resins. The technology looks promising, scientists say. But how far is it from actual market applications? Alexandra Lobnik, Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Maribor, explains: "We have to optimise all the processes, also to get the economics and appropiate business models which can attract investors to see and build up not only the demo pilot plant but also the industrial pilot plants which can be used for the treatment of textile waste. "For some of this textile waste such as polyester for instance, we are quite very near the economics and market approach, because the terephthalic acid that we got from polyester depolymerisation is a very valuable chemical. It can be used to produce new plastics or new textiles. By optimising this approach of depolymerisation of polyester textile or plastic, I´m quite sure that very soon we can be at the market place."
Source: Euro News
THE textile industry is one of the most water-intensive sectors in the world, with processes such as bleaching, dyeing, and printing globally consuming over 80 billion cubic metres of water per year. To put this number in perspective, it takes more than 2,700 litres of water to produce a single cotton t-shirt - the average amount one person drinks over two and a half years. Considering a standard textile mill today produces roughly 5,000 shirts a day, the water requirement is staggering. Research points to the issue being accelerated by fast-changing fashion trends, lower prices, and the advent of new technologies, robots, and automation capable of producing clothes at a faster rate to meet growing consumer demand. Today, an average consumer is purchasing more items of clothing than before, with each garment being kept for shorter periods of time.
The ecological price of fast fashion
Effluent wastewater from textile manufacturing processes contains salts, chemicals, dyes, and solvents which can be extremely harmful to the environment. Traditional water treatment systems are typically unable to manage the complexity of such wastewater, and subsequently become fouled or scaled, and eventually rendered inoperable. This results in ineffective or intermittent treatment that leads to contaminants being left in wastewater, which is discharged into rivers, lakes, and oceans causing environmental damage and long-term health effects on humans, animals, and plant life.
Factory Asia vs sustainable fashion
Today, the textile industry faces the difficult challenge of meeting consumer demands while abiding by new environmental laws. Governments are recognising the environmental and human impact of the status quo and are applying stringent regulations on the textile industry in order to curtail the issue. This is especially evident in the Asia-Pacific region, which accounts for over half of the global textile industry, driven by India and China which represent the largest cotton producers and exporters in the world. Regulatory authorities in the region have taken note of this grim reality and have put in place strictly enforced wastewater treatment and discharge standards. For instance, India is considered to have some of the toughest environmental regulations over the textile industry, especially around wet processing units. With growing awareness and activism around environmental conservation, pressure is also mounting on global clothing brands from end buyers of the industry as consumers seek out more sustainable fashion. In order to comply with stricter regulations and meet demands, companies are seeking and adopting modern wastewater treatment technologies to reduce the industry's environmental footprint.
Zero liquid discharge solutions and the technological advantage
For many wastewater generators, the simplest way to meet liquid discharge standards and to lower disposal costs is by separating liquid content from wastewater in a process called Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD). Separating the liquid component of wastewater turns the disposal volume into a fraction of what it once was, leaving behind dry waste that can be sent to a landfill for disposal or for further processing to reclaim chemicals. Besides preventing wastewater from entering municipal sewers or being discharged into rivers, ZLD solutions also give adopters the option of recovering fresh water and valuable by-products that can be reutilised in business operations. The creation of a circular economy helps organisations fulfil both environmental and ecological obligations. It also addresses a key concern of any prospective adaptor, turns wastewater treatment into a cost-effective and worthwhile endeavour that makes wastewater management a long-term beneficial investment instead of a business cost.
Water sustainability in the long term
The future for the textile industry looks promising, buoyed by both strong domestic consumption as well as export demand. However, the industry has challenges that need to be tackled. Top of the list is to reduce its water footprint and comply with the strict environmental laws enacted by governments. Modern technology such as ZLD solutions will be crucial in helping firms meet these regulations, to manage one of the world's most valuable resources, and to create a sustainable future for the textile industry. The writer is co-founder and CTO of Gradiant, an end-to-end water treatment solutions provider.
Source: Business Times
The National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) recently urged the government to create a textiles ministry to address the industry’s woes and revive the sector. Textiles workers also said they would demand from the government a directive for strong patronage for fabrics manufactured by domestic companies this year. In a New Year message, union national president John Adaji and secretary Issa Aremu said the creation of the ministry should be taken up as a priority. “The objective of the proposed ministry would be to regularly upgrade the textile value chains, improve labour productivity, maximise value addition and formulate strategies and programme to enable the textile sector meet the challenges to attain global competitiveness,” Nigerian media reports quoted the message as saying.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Trade deficit during first half of the fiscal year 2019/20 shrank 31 percent to $11.64 billion, compared to $16.97 billion in the same period last fiscal, mainly because of a slump in imports, the latest data showed. Pakistan’s exports improved 3.2 percent to $11.54 billion during July-December 2019/20, while imports squeezed 17 percent to $23.18 billion, signaling towards improving balance of payment position down the line. Over the last several years, ballooning trade deficit has affected Pakistan’s economy on external front, as it, being a major part of the current account deficit (CAD) had led to imbalance in the situation, resulting in increased dollar outflows that pressured the rupee into shedding its value against the greenback. It is worth mentioning that the second phase of China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA) has also come into effect from the start of this month allowing imports of around 313 new Pakistani products on zero duty to the Chinese market. Economists and traders believe it would also benefit the economy the most. Already, Pakistan is enjoying zero duty on exports of 724 products to China under the first FTA signed between the two countries in 2006. After the implementation of the second FTA, Pakistan has been allowed to export a total of 1,047 products to China on zero duty. The new facility will particularly benefit the textile sector to enhance its export to China as textile exports to China will virtually be duty-free. There are a number of other items particularly leather and agriculture products as well as confectionery and biscuits etc, which Pakistani manufacturers can export to China. After this agreement, Pakistan can enhance its exports to China up to $10 billion in the next few years as the volume of the Chinese import market is around $64 billion. The State Bank of Pakistan has also increased funds limits for the traders and manufacturers under export refinance scheme, which will help increase the exports.
Source: The News
