The textiles industry has made a major contribution to the national economy in terms of net foreign exchange earnings and contributes around 14 percent to industrial production, and 4 percent to GDP, 17 percent to the country’s exports, and 21 percent employment. It is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture. Thus, the growth and all round development of this industry has a direct bearing on the improvement of India’s economy.
Presently India has abundance of natural resources like cotton, jute and silk. Indian products are preferred for their fine designing, embellishment and craft. From the ages the Indian fabric designers and weavers are recognized as one of the best in the world. At present industry is growing at 9-10 percent with Indian economy. Indian textile industry currently possesses a share of 4.7 per cent in world market of textiles and clothing.
The Indian textiles industry is extremely varied, with the hand-spun and hand-woven textiles sectors at one end of the spectrum, while the capitalintensive sophisticated mills sector at the other end of the spectrum. The decentralised power looms/ hosiery and knitting sector form the largest component of the textiles sector. The close linkage of the textile industry to agriculture (for raw materials such as cotton) and the ancient culture and traditions of the country in terms of textiles make the Indian textiles sector unique in comparison to the industries of other countries. The Indian textile industry has the capacity to produce a wide variety of products suitable to different market segments, both within India and across the world.
India weaving industry has conventionally been one of the most promising sectors of huge employment. In fact, after agriculture, this industry is largest provider of work force. The abundance in the raw materials, the continuous supply of cheap work force is the contributing factors behind the success of the weaving industry of India. However, the liberalization of the international trade coupled with change in the reforms of domestic economy, have affected the weaving industry of India negatively. With a total of 2.6 mn looms, India manufactures approx. 66.5 bn sq. mtr of fabrics of which about 2 bn sq. mtr is from the mill sector and the balance 64 bn sq. mtr is from the decentralised sector.
Fabric production in India stood at 66,515 mn sq. mtr, growing at 1 per cent CAGR in the past five years. Woven fabric production of 48.8 bn sq mtr had the major share of 73 per cent, the rest being knitted fabric. However, the production of woven fabric has grown at a CAGR of 1 per cent while knitted fabric production has increased at 4 CAGR. Within the woven fabric segment, the share of cotton fabric has increased from 46 per cent in 2012-13 to 50 per cent in 2017-18, mainly at the expense of synthetic woven fabric.
Despite the fact that the Indian weaving industry employs a large section of the Indian population, it is considered as a failing industry. Though this ancient industry of India is experiencing a bad phase, a large market for weaving products still exist both in the international and domestic market. The manufacturing of the weaving products makes a remarkable contribution to the national GDP and even in the exports revenue. The weaving industry of India provides employment to approximately 13 mn people, thereby, making this industry the largest provider of rural work force. It is preceded by the agriculture sector.
The weaving industry in India has self-depending mechanism that includes training the young weavers, abundance of resources and capacities, thereby, helping the industry not to be dependent on the Government. In addition, weaving is eco-friendly, and is aimed at the cutting back on the environmental impact.
Challenges
The Indian textile industry is highly fragmented and is being dominated by the unorganised sector and small and medium industries. The changing government policies at the State and Central Government levels are posing major challenges to the textile industry. The tax structure GST (Goods and Service Tax) make the garments expensive. Another important thereat is raising interest rates and labour wages and workers’ salaries. There is higher level of attrition in the garment industry. Although Central Government is wooing the foreign investors the investment is coming in the textile industry.
The industry has its own limitations such as accesses to latest technology and failures to meet global standards in the highly competitive export market. There is fierce competition from China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka in the low price garment market. In the global market tariff and non-tariff barriers coupled with quota is posing major challenge to the Indian textile industry.
There are both internal and external major challenges for the exporters. Some of the internal challenges include high interest rates, infrastructural inadequacies at the ports/airports, inadequate amount of refund of taxes & duties across the value chain and volatility in the domestic cotton prices. The external challenges include high import duties for cotton textiles products from India in leading export markets as compared to lower or concessional duties on imports of similar products from competing countries. Hidden subsidies and export benefits extended to competing nations also plays a significant role when it comes to competitiveness of our products.
Conclusion
The Indian textile industry requires support from both the Central and State Governments to become competitive in the Global market. The Skill India and Make-in India programs of Central Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is helping the industry in getting required skilled manpower and good market for textile products. It is high time for the textile industry to upgrade their technology and implement ERP to streamline supply chain and enhance customer relations management activities. There is the expectation of finalising some significant FTAs with Canada and Australia as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which may hopefully generate more market access for the Indian textile industry. The Refund of State and Central Levies (ROSCTL) needs to be extended to yarns and fabrics also.
The future for the Indian textile industry looks promising, buoyed by both strong domestic consumption as well as export demand. With consumerism and disposable income on the rise, the retail sector has experienced a rapid growth in the last decade with the entry of several international players like Marks & Spencer, Guess and Next into the Indian market. The Union Ministry of Textiles, which has set a target of doubling textile exports in 10 years, plans to enter into bilateral agreements with Africa and Australia along with working on a new textile policy to promote value addition, apart from the revised Textile up gradation Fund Scheme.
To know more about the present status and future of the Indian weaving industry, we got in touch with leading players from various segments of the textile supply chain. Their views are covered in the next few pages….
Association…

Rahul Mehta, President The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India
One of the major challenges in fabric sourcing is opportunistic pricing offered by suppliers. The prices are not stabilized and as a result, a lot of time is spent on negotiating with suppliers. The suppliers keep on changing the prices depending on market demand and in such a scenario, it becomes a matter of concern for any manufacturer before committing to a large order volume. This also leads to higher lead times, lack of delivery commitment and lack of confidence of buyers.
Secondly, India has long been a cotton focused country and this is reflected in the fabrics as well. Though many manufacturing set-ups have come for synthetic fabrics, India still needs to strengthen this area as speciality fabrics such as polyesterspandex, nylon, nylon-spandex based fabrics are not easily available and mainly imported. Also, high quality, fine denier polyester filament yarns required for these fabrics are not easily available in India. However, fabrics made from these fine deniers have high demand in sportswear and fashion wear products.
Another major challenge that needs to be addressed is lack of service orientation in the suppliers. Indian fabric manufacturers deviate from their committed deadlines quite often, which eventually leads to a delay in final shipment to buyer. There is a strong need of developing serviceability, which would ensure timely delivery, consistent product quality and continuous product development to improve both quality and product basket.
In order to realize the true potential of this sector, it is important that fabric manufacturers become sensitive towards the need of garment manufacturers and brands. Long term value chain partnerships will be the key to resolve this issue. These partnerships will not only facilitate serviceability but also create predictability depending on which future investments can be planned in a better way. It is important for garment manufacturers to coordinate efficiently with the fabric manufacturers and consider them as an extended arm of their business.
As our industry is currently fragmented and India is already facing stiff competition from countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc., real partnerships are the only way to win the game. Further, the government may incentivize investments in manufacturing of speciality fabrics, which are not easily available in this country. For this, attracting Foreign Direct investment (FDI) would be a good proposition as Indian manufacturers can also learn from the technical know-how these investments bring along.
India’s strength in cotton fabrics is beyond question. Also, our progress in synthetic fabrics is worth noting. Indian fabric manufacturers have been able to compete with global players both in price and quality, however, inconsistency is a major issue, be it in product quality or price. One of the major reasons behind this has been lack of economies of scale. Since, the capacities are low, manufacturers are not able to provide volumes and on-time delivery. This is restricting India’s apparel exports capability as garment manufacturers are not able to accept large volume orders with confidence from the fabric supply.
With the world moving towards concepts of fast fashion, the fabric industry is also witnessing several shifts. For example, cotton was always treated as a premium fabric and was preferred by global buyers. However, with changing designs and drapes, synthetic and viscose fabrics are catching up fast. In fact, the product mix of global brands has these fabrics in majority. The same trend is being witnessed in Indian brands. In order to match with the global buyers, Indian brands are also gradually moving towards synthetic and viscose fabrics.

K V Srinivasan, Chairman The Cotton Textile Export Promotion Council
The Indian textile industry has both, the hand-woven textile industry on the one hand as well as the capital intensive mill sector on the other. The power loom/hosiery and knitting sector form the largest component within the textiles sector. With a total of 2.6 mn looms, India manufactures approx. 66.5 bn sq. mtr of fabrics of which about 2 bn sq. mt is from the mill sector and the balance 64 bn sq. mtr is from the decentralised sector.
Fabric production in India stood at 66,515 mn sq. mtr, growing at 1 per cent CAGR in the past five years. Woven fabric production of 48.8 bn sq mtr had the major share of 73 per cent, the rest being knitted fabric. However, the production of woven fabric has grown at a CAGR of 1 per cent while knitted fabric production has increased at 4 CAGR. Within the woven fabric segment, the share of cotton fabric has increased from 46 per cent in 2012-13 to 50 per cent in 2017-18, mainly at the expense of synthetic woven fabric.
With increasing demand for casualwear and sports-wear, the preference of consumers is now slowly moving from cotton to blends. The use of cotton in India is high because India is a traditional cotton growing country but increasing demand for synthetic textiles and blends thereof is driving mills to produce more of man-made fibre blended products. The prices of the fibre also has a significant role to play in this shift as mills prefer using cheaper fibres to keep their fabric costs immune to rising cotton prices.
We are sure that the future will hold a brighter and positive outlook for exports as favourable policies from the government would ease the burden on exporters operating on stressed working capital. There is the expectation of finalising some significant FTAs with Canada and Australia as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which may hopefully generate more market access for the Indian textile industry.
There are both internal and external major challenges for the exporters. Some of the internal challenges include high interest rates, infrastructural inadequacies at the ports / airports, inadequate amount of refund of taxes & duties across the value chain and volatility in the domestic cotton prices.
Some of the external challenges include high import duties for cotton textiles products from India in leading export markets as compared to lower or concessional duties on imports of similar products from competing countries. Hidden subsidies and export benefits extended to competing nations also plays a significant role when it comes to competitiveness of our products.
There is also an urgent need to focus on building research, design, development and marketing capabilities. International Quality Standards need to be maintained across all levels of production and finally the productivity of the sector needs to improve through training, skill building and managerial capabilities and retention of work force.
Product innovation or new product development is one among the many critical strategies in any competitive industry. Many companies have benefited through the introduction of innovative products in their product line due to a premium placed on such new product developments. The future holds well for innovation in fabrics as eco-friendly and smart fabrics have already taken over the role of traditional fabrics. India is actively involved in treading the innovative path where some of the applications have included carbon fibre based fabrics, micro fibre fabrics, glass fibre textiles and super absorbent fibres.
Fabrics made from recycled PET bottles are being used in bed linen and garments and innovative applications using bamboo, linen, hemp fibres etc. are now becoming a trend more than a norm. Recycling has also helped in reducing the overall carbon footprint globally. In a product life-cycle, any company introducing a specific innovative product will always be the leader and will gain a huge lead time over the others till the industry as a whole is able to offer this product.
With duty preferential access in many developed countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam have been able to make wider inroads into traditional importing markets. Sri Lanka and Pakistan have GSP+ with the EU while Bangladesh has an EBA treaty signed with the EU. As exporters operate on thin margins, these duty preferences make Indian products comparatively costlier.
To be competitive with these countries, India needs to reflect on the aspects that will help integrate its textiles & clothing sector with global supply chain to withstand competition. India has to lay emphasis on the value added segments like work-wear and technical textiles. The country also requires to offer significant importance to R&D at individual company level for new product / design development to meet with ever changing market demands.
Policy support from the government in granting additional relief to the extent of tariff disadvantage with important markets has helped exporters of home textiles and garments. The Refund of State and Central Levies (ROSCTL) needs to be extended to yarns and fabrics also. Countries that have facilitated cross border trade, movement of skilled and expert manpower have benefitted by integrating into global supply chain.
Exporters continue to face disabilities in terms of high interest rates and transaction costs. Further, the duties and taxes are not adequately refunded to all the products across the value chain. The expectations of the exporters are that the government will continue with the export benefits or alternatively introduce some new schemes that are WTO compatible. The Govt. should also refund the incidence of duties and taxes which are outside the purview of GST like petroleum / diesel duty, electricity duty, cross subsidy of electricity etc. on exports of yarn and fabrics as done in the case of garments and made ups. Refund of all Central and State levies including embedded taxes will ensure that India exports goods and not taxes.
The Indian fabric market is largely represented by power loom sector which is transforming into an organised segment. The earlier standard size of 24 looms unit is now considered obsolete and 96 looms with airjet/ rapier technology has become the norm with higher efficiency and productivity under the organised sector.
This transformation is complementing the demand of fabric in the domestic market, growing at CAGR 15 per cent. However, the ITMF data shows there is drop in the import of shuttle-less looms in India in 2018. The future for India looks promising with the changes happening around the world in the textile and apparel segment. India has the capability of becoming the growth engine provided it become competitive at global level in terms of quality, productivity and prices. India definitely holds big opportunity for its domestic market but on the other hand it is complacent in the export market which has stagnated. Other markets like Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc. are growing at enormous pace and hence India is going to face the competition and time has come to deal with it appropriately.
The future certainly lies in investments upstream both for manufacture of consumer fabrics as well as for technical textiles. In addition to this, Indian industry needs to eliminate the cost and logistic inefficiency to holds its place in the global market.
The Indian MMF segment is highly fragmented in structure between yarn, weaving /knitting, processing, made-ups stages. Most of the units are disintegrated and many of them are MSMEs. Constant Technological upgradation is another important area to ponder over. Latest state-of-art technology, looms are highly capital intensive. High rates of interest in India is a discouraging factor for investment. Moreover, lack of quality power and water supply which comes under state jurisdiction is a major challenge for the weaving and processing segment.
There is a need of evolution of MMF industry in India and participation of large upstream players to make it globally competitive. The Indian MMF industry lacks the support of high-end research and product development, where Industrial organisations and leading academic institutions can jointly work together. Innovation remains the key for the success of textile and fashion industry where customisation is becoming the new norm. In the MMF sector, there have been continuous innovations in various fibres particularly in polyester to enhance the performance of the fabrics which is commercialising fast. Global companies involved in textile R&D has been more concerned on the sustainability issues. Performance based fabrics with durability and comfort finishes are becoming the new standard with increasing share of MMF in the apparel.
Active Wear fabrics to support a modern healthy lifestyle, sustainability with strong efforts at preserving the eco systems and lowering the carbon footprint are the areas where Indian companies can focus on to improve their offerings in the marketplace.
China is the main competitor, because it has integrated units with very large manufacturing capabilities and the consequent ability to offer very attractive price. Most of the Chinese fabrics manufacturers work on scale and many of the varieties of fabrics are readily available with them that make China able to deliver the orders in no time.
Pakistan has lost its earlier edge, which was primarily built on higher investments in processing -mainly printing. Only advantage Pakistan has over India is the GSP facility from the EU which India doesn’t. Bangladesh has leveraged favourable trade and duty concessions to build a strong supply base in garments. India’s favourable import policy form Bangladesh and GSP facility from the USA and the EU are working in favour of Bangladesh. Sri- Lanka focuses primarily on high end ladies’ intimate wear.
Vietnam has emerged as the 3rd largest exporter of apparel in the world after China and Bangladesh with $30.5 bn worth of export and total T&C exports of $36.2 in 2018. The total export is expected to reach $50 bn by 2025 and it looks very realistic.
India needs to work on scale and at the same time ability to serve short runs. In a way India needs to be very flexible to cater to changing demands in the global market. It should not shy from adopting new technology and modernising the industry. Government needs to ensure pro-industry policy framework with both fiscal and monetary concerns. Quality Power and water supply issue along with priority sector lending rate need to be ensured by the government to encourage investment and increase efficiency and productivity. Scale and productivity will help us compete globally.
Government can help the manmade fibre textile industry the following ways: Changing the prevailing global perception on the Indian MMF textile value chain by way of promotion of exports of Indian MMF textiles and encouraging formation and establishment of “Brand Names” of Indian textile companies globally;
Treating the textile merchant converter exporters at par with manufacturer exporter as the nature of their business makes it possible for them to cause manufacture of textile products suitable for export market by providing all inputs/raw material required for manufacturing; Organise mega events like “Textiles India 2017” regularly on an annual basis to showcase the textile value chain of India as it will help India to establish as a global textile sourcing hub and investment destination;
Extending MAI benefits to participants/buyers from Non-MAI countries/Developed Countries, as these countries play a major role in sourcing MMF textiles from India; Adopt fibre neutrality by placing MMF products under a uniform GST rate as that of cotton. Also need to address GST anomalies prevailing in the MMF textile segment like refund of IGST/ GST on Capital Goods and refund of Input Tax Credit on Input services etc;
Extend benefits of RoSCTL Scheme to the all the MMF textile products by considering at least 6 per cent rate to make exports of MMF textile products from India grow substantially as they will be more price-competitive globally; Increase in Duty Drawback rates of the MMF textile products so that those Central taxes, which are not being currently reimbursed through the present DBK rates, will be reimbursed fully; Include MMF & MMF yarns under Interest Equalisation Scheme to make credit available at an affordable rate and give boost to exports of Manmade Fibre and MMF yarns in the country;
Facilitate priority sector lending rate on loans to textile segment and encourage banks and financial institutions to step up lending to genuine investors – with proper due diligence. Since Textiles is a matured market, fresh investments will have a payback only after 8-10 years in the current environment; Relook at FTAs given to our neighbouring countries for duty free imports into India and tighten Country of Origin Rules -so that indiscriminate imports of average quality products do not adversely impact SMEs and MSMEs in India; Enter into PTAs with markets such as Turkey, Russia, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, etc. which can help India to trade with potential markets.
Fiber, Yarn, Fabric…

Subir Mukherjee Business Head – Denim Bhaskar Industries Pvt Ltd
Capacity built up driven by subsidised capital has resulted in gross over capacity not commensurate with demand growth. Mills are not able to pass on input cost increases resulting into significant drop in margin. I believe things are settling down and would hope to have normalcy in coming years. Indian market payment cycle has sharply increased post GST implementation. This, coupled with reduced margin is the main struggle for the industry. To overcome this situation, few things will help textile mills in India. a) Duty free import from Bangladesh restricted to fabric originating from Bangladesh or India. b) Improved logistics between India to Bangladesh to reduce transit + export time to 4-5 days from any part of India. c) Long term cotton policy.
As far as competition from neighbouring countries is concerned, China is becoming expensive and is not real challenge any more. However, fast capacity built up in Bangladesh and high rupee devaluation in Pakistan is putting serious challenge to Indian mills. GSP protection from the EU to these countries also makes us less competitive. Most of the new mills were designed to work for Indian domestic market. International market orientation needs to be focussed. Increased garment manufacturing capacity targeting international market in India will be of immense help for Indian mills.
In terms of trends, so far as denim is concerned, usage of alternate fibres (polyester/viscose/rayon) is increasing. There is also a trend of going back to original simpler direct finishes for salt-and-pepper wash look. Sustainability being the core focus area for many brands, new and improved dyeing and finishing methods to enable chemical and water saving at garment washing stage is of immense importance.
Bhaskar Denim is a composite mill with 44 mn meter annual capacity. Actual production is 3 mn meters per month of which about 1/3rd is exported directly or through Indian garment exporters. Bhaskar is working with all international and national brands retailing in India. With a major focus on innovation and sustainability, we have partnered with few upstream fibre and chemical suppliers to jointly create sustainable and functional denim fabric. Product launch is a continuous process. We’ve come up with one international collection every six month. Focus on new product development is creating value for our customers and ensuring. Sustainability in production process is a key focus area. Reducing water and chemical footprint for each meter of fabric is need of the hour. We have launched our unique MantraBlu resource efficient fabric line.

Manohar Samuel Senior President Marketing Birla Cellulose – LIVA
In terms of product quality and price, India is one of the most competitive markets worldwide. The sheer talent of artisans is unmatched. Textile Minister Smriti Irani is expected to bring some reforms in the sector in order to get the growth in line. To solve the issues, better reforms in terms of wages of the workers, better technology as well techniques where we are saving water, using less chemicals can be the solution towards improved textile sector.
Trend wise, up to a certain extent, people are aware of the harmful effects of fast fashion. Hence, they are switching to fabrics that are ecofriendly in nature. Sustainable fashion is gaining its importance with time. The industry’s overall fabric consumption is about approx.. 90 mn tonne every year, out of which polyester has its share of 40-45 mil tonne, cotton has 30 mn tonne whereas sustainable fabrics like Viscose has its share at about 5-6 mil tonne. When it comes to sales of sustainable garments, 3.5 cr garments with Liva tags had been sold last year and the number is expected to go up to 4.5 cr in the coming year. Fabrics that are good for skin as well as nature are given more preference. Fabrics made from cellulose like viscose, modal, etc. are future of the generation since they are fluid, comfortable, very easy to drape and fits well. In terms of demand, the sustainable fabrics will have increased share in the textile industry.

Mahesh Maheshwari Director Nimbark Fashions Limited
At present fabric mills in India are struggling for two major count: Cost of Production: In India, due to shortage of skilled labour, we are struggling to get desired efficiency and production at mills. This ultimately increases cost of production. Competiveness: Demandsupply mismatch is creating selling pressure and thus margins. The capacities with mills are increasing much faster than actual demand (in domestic as well as export markets) therefore putting lot of pressure on prices and in-turn on profitability.
As a fabric manufacturer, we are facing several challenges including: Productivity: Consistency in Quality & Production is major challenge in fabric manufacturing. Finance: Because of struggling conditions of large textile companies, the sector is not in favourite list of financial institutions and therefore credit flow to textile industry is very slow. The entire value chain in this industry is liquidity starved.
The new trends in fibres and finishes in fabrics are Hemp & Bamboo fibre along with Polyester, Coolmax and stretch fibre are in demand and creating newer trends. For sustainability, we have started using recycled fibres. We have introduced products like Tencel blends/ Modal Blends/ Linen Blend in different effect with ETI and scented finishes.
The global competition is increasing as international demand is not showing great improvement since past 4-5 years. Indian fabric manufacturer needs to enhance the productivity levels as well as concentrate on high quality value added products. Government should amend its policies such that India can improve its export and be competitive. Also, domestic demand revival is must for entire industry to move forward from its standstill position since past 3-4 years. Also government should work towards improving credit flow to textile industry.
We are manufacturer of value added Yarn & Fabric.Our production capacity is approximately 15,000 MT per annum in yarn and 40 lakhs mtr per annum in fabric.

Vinod Mittal Director Vinod Denim Limited
The present status of fabric mills is somewhat static. Slow growth in demand due to demonetization and GST has put a break on steady growth. Unless there is positive intervention by the govt. to correct the anomalies the future does not look bright. Rising input prices, difficulty in getting credit and dullness in the market are major challenges today. The new trends in fibres and finishes are not encouraging. Risk taking is not favoured.
The competition from several Asian countries is adversely affecting us. So far as mills are concerned sustained upgradation of quality and innovation in process and production are the key areas in this.. The new Government is expected to revamp GST in order to make all areas of textile business free of friction, red tape and delay. There is an urgent need to slash tax rate to make the industry globally competitive and a greater provider of employment.
As a company we are committed to sustainable production by being compliant of environmental and pollution control laws. Eight years ago we launched Vinod Denim which is our major diversification. We are waiting for the new budget to shape our view about our new products.
Group Vinod today is an integrated & diversified group with production facilities located in Ahmedabad (India) area with A to Z of textile manufacturing under one umbrella. The group is currently with seven operating entities i.e. Vinod Fabrics Pvt. Ltd., Vinod Denim Ltd., United Polyfab Pvt. Ltd., Anil Exports & Vinod Cotfab Pvt. Ld. and Vinod Spinners Pvt. Ltd., Shiv Shakti Cotfab Pvt. Ltd. project just started.
The vision of the group is to scale greater heights in production, productivity, sales, technology and quality. Result steady growth year after year and to become a lead player in segments like processing, denim and technical textiles in the medium term. In doing so it shall be the endeavour of the group to follow the tenet of ‘Make in India’ in the true spirit and make its contribution to the new paradigm of the Prime Minister to accelerate the development of the country and bring it to the forefront of the comity of nations. It will also practice the principle of “zero defect to “zero effect” (environment).
Our approach to the future emanates from our vision, objectives and the strategy. To achieve our goal, we realize that we have to maintain an equitable and working balance among the claims of all stakeholders i.e. employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, financiers and the public. This document is to help everybody to enhance performance standards and achieve results so that accelerated growth is achievable. As tools to accomplish this, we will be looking for synergy in activities, management by objective and results, evaluating managerial performance and worker performance, going for incentive base remuneration structure, keeping the morale of personnel high and always faster positive management attitude towards labour. Above all, the country is now embarking upon a new wave of economic reforms and we will be in tune with the new paradigm that is expected to usher in many positive changes.
From an operational point of view, it is important to note that we follow a realistic, business oriented & professional approach. It is a group because the units are promoted by extended family members, though mutual help, advice & problem solving is enabled by the group as a whole. In terms of the actual operation, each unit is a different industrial undertaking with separately located, separately identifiable assets & separate management. Each unit is a profit centre & no gross subsidy is attempted any time. The management of each & every unit is being professionalized rapidly by recruiting qualified engineers, CS, accounts people, production staff, quality controllers, marketing & sales executives etc. Each unit keeps vigil on the important promoters governing the unit & take it as a challenge to maximise production, productivity, sales & profit, following the main tennets of modern business practice. That is why the group companies have experienced sustained growth & there is absolutely no complaint from any of the stakeholders about sharp practice on part of the group & individual units.

Mukesh Bansal Vice President, Vardhman
Fabric manufacturing is one of the oldest industry in the world and in India. This is something very fundamental to Indian society. In India this industry is highly fragmented. Every State has its own industry structure depending upon the local culture and Government policy. The industry expanded in a big way after introduction of TUfs (Central Government scheme). Recently some State Governments have also tried to give thrust to this sector by introducing special packages to enable the modernisation and expansion in the industry.
While the fragmented industry in MSME sector caters to local demand to a large extent, the large houses have a good proportion of sales coming from exports as well. The biggest challenge at the moment is decline in India’s garment export. A big challenge is required to increase the garment production as well as export from India. We are facing severe competition from neighbouring countries in addition to the local issues in India. The second big challenge is logistics efficiency. However, we have to have international level scale of production as well as quality. The other distinguishing factors are speed, innovation and flexibility. The Government has given high priority to infrastructure, employment and exports. These 3 focus areas, executed well, will be good for textile industry also.
A large portion to fashion is merging with the performance. All the brands are now looking for performance in the fabric. There is hardly anything conventional in the fabric ranges these days. We are a very sustainability focussed organisation, not today but from the beginning. Environmental consciousness is at the core of company’s strategy. Year on year we take targets to save water & energy. These projects are a regular part of the operational reviews. In addition we are directly funding a BCI project and we have started increasing usage of other sustainable materials like Ecovero Tencel and Recycled fibres. We have launched good range of products in men’s shirts and women’s tops category. In addition our range of bi stretch fabrics for trousers has been appreciated very well by the customers.
Vardhman Textiles Limited was started in 1965 with just 14,000 spindles. Today we are one of the largest manufacturers of yarns and woven fabrics. We are producing close to 650 tonne per day of yarns and 600k per day of woven fabrics. We have recently expanded our fabric finishing capacity from 10 mn mtr per month to 14 mn mtr. This includes expansion in Solids, Yard Dyed and Prints. Apart from this a lot of investment has gone into creating flexibility in the infrastructure to provide speed and flexibility to our customers. About 40 per cent of our turnover comes from exports.

Niresh H Anmalla Manager- Sales & Marketing Mafatlal Industries Ltd.
Keeping user experience at the focal point, we at Mafatlal Industries Ltd. offer the widest range of high quality fabrics. With the OEKO-TEX Quality Certification and the ISO 9001:2008 series of quality standards, we have been able to continuously meet with the every shifting needs of our consumer.
From shirtings, suitings, denims, corduroys, school, corporate & institutional uniforms, bed & bath linen and ready-mades, each product at Mafatlal is an amalgamation of passion and research.
We owe it to our mills in the State of Gujarat, which are equipped with the best technology. The Nadiad unit caters to the standards of our international customers such as Marks and Spencer, Next, DGQA, GDS&D and Ordnance. While at Navsari, the state-of-the-art composite denims manufacturing unit courses yarn manufacturing, dyeing, weaving and finishing.
We are mainly doing viscose fabric, cotton fabrics and blended fabrics. We produce around 35 lakh mtr per month. Out of this 25 per cent is exported, 50 per cent is sold to international brands and 25 per cent to domestic market. In terms of trends, market these days is demanding some new qualities, like structured dobby, blends like cottonmodal and more of trend in viscose is EcoVero fabrics, sustainable fabrics, organic fabrics etc.
When we compare ourselves with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and China, price wise India is not able to compete with them. Bangladesh has better duty benefits and China pricing wise is much cheaper. The Govt. of India has to do something about the textile market as nothing big has been done for our industry in past sometime. Industry needs govt. support to boost its growth globally.

Sanjeev Malhotra Director Ambika Knits Private Limited
Presently, the fabric mills in India are not in a good shape, especially the ones within the small-scale sector. This is evident from many small fabric processing units shutting down in Delhi NCR in recent years due to reduced viability. However, large units or vertically integrated units are still managing and will dominate the sector in the future.
The major challenges we are facing as a fabric manufacturer are increased costs of production, slow domestic and global demand, instability of cotton and raw material prices, pollution concerns, balancing between viability and sustainability are some of the major challenges being faced by us at the moment.
More than China & Pakistan, we see Bangladesh and Vietnam are bigger competitors at the moment. Whatever trade China lost through the US-China Trade War has been absorbed by Bangladesh and Vietnam. This is due to cheap labour available there and a very pro-active government providing various types incentives for the export industry. Indian fabric mills should focus on reducing costs of operations and try to penetrate into new markets like South America, Africa or domestic India and reduce the dependency on China.
We expect the new government to be more pro-active in supporting the textiles industry as it is 2nd biggest employer after agriculture. Higher coordination is required between the Ministry of Textiles, Agriculture, Commerce, Finance & HRD in drafting the Policies in the future. For export sector, better infrastructure for Inland transport of FCLs to ICDs to Ports is required to reduce time and costs.
Extension of MEIS and increase of duty drawbacks would be great. In terms of trends, these days, specialised fibres with extraordinary technical features are in demand E.g. Pima Cotton, Lurex, sustainable Viscose, Anti-microbial, UV & Moisture Resistant, Bamboo fibre, etc.
As a company we are taking a lot of steps for sustainable production. We continuously thrive to reduce our Carbon Footprint and impact on the environment through our business practices. Some of the measures we use are: Use of high quality dyes and auxiliaries at Low Liquor Ratio to minimise water consumption, Use of GOTS approved dyes ensures that the fabric is free from all harmful substances and chemicals, using effluent treatment plant for wastewater and wet scrubber to control pollutant gas, etc.

MP Agarwal Chairman and Managing Director Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Limited
The Indian textile industry is extremely varied, with the hand spun and hand woven sector at one end of the spectrum, and the capital intensive sophisticated mill sector at the other. The decentralised power looms/ hosiery and knitting sector form the largest section of the textile sector. It contributes about 14 per cent of the industrial production, 4 per cent to the GBP and 11 per cent to the country’s export earnings.
The Indian textile industry sector is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture and accordingly this sector has its National importance. Therefore the future of the fabric Mills in India is very bright. However, it has challenges also when considering decentralised presence of small weavers and knitted hosiery manufacturers.
As a fabric manufacturer, we are facing a lot of major challenges like global competition. Very fragmented industry. Competition from other low cost producing nations is likely to intensify, Less export orders due to reductions in inventories by global retail giants like Wal-Mart, fabric exports from India are at serious disadvantage as compared to exports from competing countries due to duty differentials in major exports markets. GSP given to countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Ethiopia in Europe and Canada market, which makes India textile products expensive in these markets, Depreciating Pakistani Rupee against USD makes their product more competitive, The increase of Utility Cost /labour cost, and Made in USA Policy.
Indian exporters face higher trade barriers compared to countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan in key markets such as the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). Average tariffs levied on Indian textile exports are around 5.9 per cent in the EU, while it is 6.2 per cent in the US, compared to zero per cent and 3.9 per cent on exports from Bangladesh. The US and the EU are the world’s largest apparel importers and account for 60 per cent of total global imports
For further strengthening of this industry we are requesting the government to seriously pick-up the issue with Europe and negotiate with China on yarn and fabric so that we are on level same field with our main competitors, Increase in draw back rates and Reduced Interest rate for Capital intensive sophisticated Mill sector to make production viable and competitive.
As far as trend is concerned, following are in good demand these days. Coconut Husks: Cocona is a fabric made of coconut-husk waste from the food service industry. It is ideal for athletic wear as it is lightweight and breathable; Soured Milk: Qmilch makes fabric from protein found in spoiled milk. The production process results in zero waste, requires no harsh chemicals, and uses less water than other milkbased fabrics; Wood Pulp: Naoran is a chemical-free leather alternative derived from wood pulp and recycled polyester. It is soft, flexible, and water-resistant; Recycled Plastic Bottles: Newlife is a polyester yarn processed mechanically from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles. Georgio Armani used it to create an ecofriendly gown for Livia Firth at the 2012 Golden Globe Awards; Repreve Fibre: Unifi, a maker of Repreve recycled fibre, has launched a new sustainable product that enables customers and consumers to play a role in solving the ever-growing problem of ocean plastic. To deal with the root cause of ocean plastic, Repreve Our Ocean fibre is made from bottles collected within 50 km of coastlines in countries or areas that lack formal waste or recycling systems. In addition to these, lots of research is going on in respect of safety textile products for Defence sector.
Shri Lakshmi Cotsyn Limited was incorporated in Kanpur in August, 1988. Over a period of time, the company undertook expansion programmes and introduced many new products resulting in increase in the produce profile, production capacity alongwith benefits of forward and backward integration and came up with new manufacturing facilities in Malwan, Dist: Fatehpur, Abhaypur, Dist: Fatehpur, Rewari Buzurg, Dist: Fatehpur, Noida and Roorki (Uttrakhand). The production capacity was increased with an installed capacity of fabric manufacturing to the tune of 242 MMPA with adequate captive power generation capacity. The company enjoys strong relationship with Marque 500 buyers.
We are equipped with most modern facilities to manufacture denim fabric, bottom weight fabric, wide width fabric, Terry towels, Technical textiles such as Flex fabric, Nuclear biochemical fabric, Block out fabric, Infra-Red fabric, Carbon fabric and other technical textile fabrics. We are continuously doing research work for value addition in our product profile. Recently we have developed specialized ACS Coated fabric for an European buyer.

Sri Kalyan Managing Director Sri Kalyan Export Pvt Ltd
Fabric Mills in India facing an aggressive competition from our neighbouring countries making fabrics at a very cheap price and exporting dutyfree to many countries due to its small country status. But India is a long standing player in small quantity fabric production and maintaining high quality standards and timely delivery. So hope to be quantity competitive than price competitive in future also. We are facing frequent price increase in yarns/cottons as we confirm pricing with exporters 2-3 months before during sampling developments, but when order comes later on we face price increase. So we both sit and discuss this price increase and come to amicable solution by accepting price which less impacts on both sides.
We face very strong competition from countries like China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh etc., as they enjoy various benefits from government and also tax free entry into many countries. As per WTO agreement Indian Government slowly reducing all subsidy and benefits which makes further burden to textile manufacturers. But due to their personal commitment to quality and service each textile running steadily in spite of heavy competition and research and development in adopting to new sustainable textile requirements only we are able to survive in textile market. Our textile mills and exporters one and only request and expectation from government for past 10 years is FTA with Europe and Canada. Which itself can increase 25 per cent approx. our textile exports which will be very much need for the industry. Presently wood based fibres are catching up in the market like Hemp, Lyocell, Flax, etc., and finishes like Crinkle effect, washed looks, Seer sucker effects have more demand.
Sri Kalyan Export Private Limited is a 30 years old company engaged in woven fabrics manufacturing, home textiles, bags and baby care products etc. We have yearly 3 mn mtr of fabric production in prints, solids and yarn dyed. 95 per cent of our fabrics are used for exports only either for garments, home textiles and bags. We are one of the leading Certified Manufacturer and Exporter with GOTS, Fair Trade, Oeko-Tex, GRS, BCI, OCS, Sedex and SA 8000. We are constantly looking for new sustainable fibres and fabrics to add in our production and implement as per buyer requirements. Sustainable manufacturing practices and ethical business keeps us competitive and makes us to achieve yearly growth rate of 5 per cent approx. in this competitive textile industry.
We are one of the early movers in manufacturing Organic Cotton fabrics from 2006 and we are certified with International Certifications like GOTS, Fair Trade, BCI (Better Cotton), GRS Global Recycle Standards, Oeko-Tex, OCS and Social Audit standards like SEDEX and SA 8000. We always update ourselves in production with new sustainable fibres. We are presently doing Organic Cotton/ Hemp and 100 per cent Hemp Fabrics and as well Organic Cotton/ Lyocell and 100 per cent Lyocell Fabrics. Recycle Cotton Fabrics and Recycle Polyester Fabrics also getting high enquiries presently.

Suketu Shah LNJ Denim – Chief Executive / Business Head, RSWM Limited
We are a mid-segment denim company catering to all major brands in India. Exporting 40 per cent of our product and also with the trade partners across Delhi, Mumbai everywhere. We produce 2mn mtr of denim fabrics a month. We have a good range of sustainability as a concept. We are also into postconsumer waste fabrics, which is a unique characteristic we have over garmenting. We are considered one of the niche products manufacturers of the garments.
Denim industry in India is growing at 10 per cent a year. This is my 36th year in denim and I had the privilege to start denim in this country. I have seen lots of ups and downs in the industry and nothing will go down further. Probably we will be booming around in next six months. We are very much competitive as we are the best producers of cotton in this country and also a lot of new innovations are happening in and around India.
Market is growing by 10 percent as youth is becoming more denimfriendly. People in old age are also becoming comfortable with denims. Application of denim in womenswear is also increasing. Besides, the moment trade war between two big giants in world gets sorted we will be able to export more out of India. We would not like to do any expansion now, except the value addition out of the capacity which we have to become more cost conscious.

Rajan Gupta GM-Marketing KG Denim Limited
Trend is more towards special finishes and fabrics. Apart from the basics, PU coatings and resin finishes are in demand. Indian denim industry is not doing so great nowadays. We are hopeful by December end the situation will be good. We are planning to expand our non-denim i.e. apparel fabric business.
India is nowadays capable and versatile enough to face any competition in international market. Govt. should make some flexible policies to with stand the industry. Future is great because denim being a fashion item is always in demand. It’s versatile and you can use it in any segment.

Sameer Kulkarni Manager – Business Development Suryalakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd
We are basically a vertical setup of denims. One of the pioneers for denims in India. We are one of the first denim mills who started rope dyeing in India initially. So, we know the denim as originality that’s why we call it our strength. Suryalakhsmi has gone through a lot of leaps and bounds in last 15-20 years. We were stronger in spinning part of the textile business, which we slowly grown into denims. Now we are vertical, we do spinning, fabrics and garments.
Suryalakshmi has emerged in all the places of business. The company has a presence in both domestic as well as exports market wherein 70-80 per cent of our fabric production is going into exports. Then rest for the traders in domestic market. Sustainability is the new trend in the market. We have range of fabrics from 5 ounce to 50 ounce. We have all the technologies where we have rope dyed products, sheet dyed products, and range of finishes. We have a 40 mn mtr per annum capacity in fabrics.
The industry is struggling nowadays. Survival of the fittest is the law now. Govt. should try and promote more of regional based businesses and some decentralized sectors. We have equally good technologies over here when compared to the other countries. India has lot of potential to grow exports of garments.

Rohit Bohra Vice President (Exports) Sangam (India) Limited
We are doing weaving to denim processing to garmenting all together. We are into denims since 2007 and have recently started with indigo yarns and indigo fabrics. Knit dobby’s are more popular in the industry at this moment. Our current production capacity of denim is 3.6 mn mtr per month. Our target is to reach 50 per cent exports by 2020 March. Market is tough, demand is too high and supply is less and trade war between US-China is also going on.
It is making scenario difficult but if your article, product and service is perfect you through hold this situation. In terms of manufacturing capabilities we are competitive enough and are getting all our raw material from India itself. India itself has huge domestic market. We expect 2020 to be good for our industry.

Ajay Agarwal Executive Director Donear Industries Ltd.
Amidst the many challenges in the process of fabric sourcing, the most prominent one includes delivery from the sourcing side. Reduction in lead time is of prime importance to enable smooth and timely delivery of end product. There is an urgent need for more favourable policies from the State and Central Governments for the exponential growth of this sector as the sector provides major contribution to employment. In order to cope up with the increasing demands of the customers, it is vital to be accustomed with their choices and offer them the best product, both in terms of quality and price.
To ensure a healthy balance between the two, certain degree of competitive spirit is required from all the Indian fabric manufacturers. Trend wise, fabrics like stripes & structure have gained massive popularity in the recent times. However, jacquards, prints are also quite in vogue these days. In terms of hues, fancy and wide colour pallete is well accepted.

Suryakant Shah Managing Director Textrend Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd.
Our main product is shirting. Nowadays, weaving industry is passing through a tough phase; demand is yet to pick up, like any other business textile is also affected. Internationally cotton prices are down. So far India is concerned, cotton prices are down by 5 per cent. When it comes to govt. support, we are happy with the initiative they have taken like GST. Lot of players who were not following regular practices and giving us unhealthy competition, that is been taken care of.
So, now it’s a level playing field for all the players. Growth story as far as India is concerned, is definitely intact. With whatever macro factors we are observing right now, every chance is there that India is going to get more business from the other countries. In textiles future is bright for all the players. In fabric manufacturing India’s main competition is China. But we are becoming more competitive due to so many initiatives taken by the govt.

Shashank Sachdeva Vice President Sachdeva Fabric World Pvt. Ltd.
We are producing around 6-10 lakh mtr per month, which is completely for exports. The current market scenario is really challenging for the Indian fabric manufacturers. Even I don’t foresee any improvement in next six months. What I have learnt from my customers from abroad, that online business has taken a huge chunk from their business. It is really challenging for them as they have to close some of their stores. Also uncertainty in international market in terms of policies from US, and then BREXIT is really affecting the buying pattern of ultimate consumers from offline stores to online stores. The govt. though should continue providing the subsidies to the Bangladesh but should also take steps to protect domestic garment manufacturers who are supplying to the domestic market. When it comes to the ultimate exports try to get MFN status from Europe and US to support our export industry. India is basically surviving because of the value addition.
In terms of manufacturing capabilities, Indian fabric mills are competitive enough when compared to our neighbouring countries. China is our biggest competitor but this month we were able to get big chunk of business from China to India by offering competitive prices. It’s not only because of the role of fabric people but everyone from weaver, spinner and garment manufacturers. Trend wise, anything related to sustainability, organic, BCI, Oeko-tex is in demand.

Sukhmeet Singh Managing Director Daman Textiles
With our 14 years of rich industry experience, we have become a one-stop shop for an assortment of fabrics like jackets and coats fabrics, cotton blended fabrics, sportswear fabrics and nylon as well as polyester fabrics. We are specialized for our inputs from China as well as within the India boundary.
We ensure 100 per cent quality in all the fabrics as we procure raw material from authentic and trustworthy vendors of the country.
Fashion keeps on changing. In the outerwear segment, majorly nylon and polyester are in trend. When it comes to comparing Indian mills, in terms of cotton and knitted fabrics we are very strong but in polyester and nylon we are not even close to China. India is very strong in cottons and denims. In last six months, three-four months were lean. However, everybody has orders so we are just trying to finish and deliver that on time. Now, everybody is having handsome business in their hands.
In general context industry is doing fine. Certain on and off issues will always be there. Govt. is trying to promote Indian factories, production house and planning things in such a way so that Indian mills are promoted. Let’s see how the govt. does. The major crunch the industry is facing is garment import from Bangladesh. Govt. has recently made some changes in the import policy from China. Same way we want them to make changes when it comes to Bangladesh also.

Sudarshan Mundra Director, Madhusudan Group
Today, fashion industry is changing so drastically that every month something new is coming up. The new trend is getting out and giving away sustainable fabrics. We manufacture our own sustainable filament based polyester yarn and then make fabric out of it. As the generation is growing, everybody is moving towards the sustainability movement so we have started promoting more of sustainable fabrics. Market scenario is not so good but still little improving for past 15-20 days. Lot of European, US buyers have started shifting from China to India because of increase in customs duty and that is a good part. Let’s see how Indians can cope with all these enquiries.
On date it’s very competitive. We are giving our competitors countries tough competition in terms of fabric manufacturing facilities. The gap was much higher before but it is reducing every day. China is getting expensive because of labour their becoming expensive. They also have their very stringent pollution norm that is why lots of factories are shutting down. The supply there is cutting down. Import duties have increased customs laws are very strict so all these factors combined, China is becoming expensive. So, India is competent on a very good ground.
Our Madhusudan Group is a renowned brand in the textile industry. Establishing its prominence over the market, the group has its business presence spreading from yarn air texturizing, to yarn dyeing, weaving, fabric processing and value addition. A firm believer in the Fibre to Fabric, our company has proved its mettle as a one stop solution to all the textile needs.

Aseem Chitkara VP – Marketing Ginni International Limited
We make denims and RFT fabrics, and are doing basic, over dyed and sulfur denim. No Indian company has such wide variety of products what we have today. From buyers’ point of view if you look for an opportunity of buying bottom width fabric, we are there. In denims particularly we have introduced six new collections men’s collection in economy and premium, women’s collection ‘Charm’, economy collection ‘Dhoom’, premium denim collection ‘Nirvana’, Knitted collection ‘Neo’, Raw is the new sustainable denim, then we have coloured denims.
Market is tough nowadays for Indian denim industry. Supply is much more than the demand but you have to find your niche. If you have your market segmentation done right and you have the right product categories to position it to them, then it is not a worry. We are supplying 50 per cent of our production in domestic market especially Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and other areas, so we are not over dependent on any region. In each segment we have categories in our product segment. So, that’s why we are running at 80-90 per cent of our capacity. People who will work for niche categories there is no worry for them. People who are working for mass keep on cutting the prices, obviously there’s no need.
From govt. point of view, infrastructure has to be developed to support the Indian denim sector. In Bangladesh whole eco-system is dependent on denims. Today Bangladesh is many a times larger exporter when compared to India. So, those kinds of incentives and benefits should come. Trend wise, in domestic market its knitted denims majorly, and in exports market it is sustainable denims.

Nishant Giri Sr. General Manager Jindal Worldwide Limited
We are a textile major and our current capacity is 200 mn mtr per annum. Apart from denims, we are making bottom width, shirting, home textile fabrics etc. Even we are coming up with yarn dyed fabric also. We are catering to the different countries as well as domestic market of India. We have got foothold in Europe, US, Latin America, Middle East and Far East. Now we have offices in some places also so that we can increase our volumes. To make our planet safe for new generation we are using chemicals which are less hazardous to the environment.
At present, fabric industry is neither doing very good nor very bad. The phase is a little tight, where we learn what we need to put new. Nobody wants to have two or three pairs of indigo denim. Everybody wants something new, so you have to be very creative to sell something new.
When we talk about India’s comparison with other countries, it’s not about only skills or machinery. There’s other cost related to it i.e. what is the cost of manufacturing. We have got the same machinery what Bangladeshi and Chinese have got, same technical skills in our people, but Chinese have more efficiency in working. Besides, power cost, labour cost are little cheaper in Bangladesh. That’s why they are able to compete with us.
In fabrics we are very competitive with Chinese and Bangladeshi. But in garment stage, they have an edge against us because garmenting is a totally labour intensive unit. Every stitch has to be done with hands. Gas cost or power cost in Bangladesh is cheaper. They have more skilled workers than us. Combined all factors Bangladesh is little more ahead of us.

Mani Kant Director Bishnu Texport Pvt. Ltd.
Fabric Mills are struggling very hard time to run all shift, stock level of loom stage fabric stagnant in warehouse, demand getting less and less. Some of Mills are running only single shift (8 hours) due to poor demand from end market become down by 30-45 per cent compare to last 2 years. Another big issue with mills are fabric import from nearby countries like Vietnam, Combodia, Bangladesh, Thailand and biggest supplier China. Mills are struggling to get even breakeven of fabric cost due to cheaper import. At the same time, if we see mills who are doing speciality fabric/value added fabric are not in trouble because availability of such product are not easy and only few mills can provide that.
As Indian fabric producer, who have excellent setup of facility should adopt production of value added fabric which goes in to high segment. By producing high value fabric, For example, – No mills in India are able to produce lining fabric with Bemberg (Cupro Yarn) for use in jackets (Suits), it is getting imported from Italy and China since more than 50 years. Today sportswear garments are getting good growth in sales, but we are very poor in producing good quality of fabric which are acceptable by leading sportswear brand like, Nike, Puma, Adidas etc. Taiwan has 75 per cent market share globally in sportswear fabric supply and in India they are almost 90 per cent with top sportswear brand. There are many more in textile fabric need to produce by Indian mills. The India mills having most of textile machine from the EU and Japan, Taiwan also has same one or might be from China as well but still we don’t think to go in segment which Taiwan, China or Italy are doing. Mills are more interested in producing mass production item than value added item. No harm in producing mass item but every mill should make benchmark to keep 30-40 per cent of their product in high end and balance for mass area.
If we really want to become more strong and competitive, we have to adopt policy of high end quality in our product basket, use new innovative yarn/fibres and other accessories to make fabric unique and special. Mills should teach brand about beauty of that fabric and requested them (Garment brand) to display function of fabric Broadly on POP of garment. Big humble request to new Govt. to make all textile item under single GST slab, make labour law and social security easier for textile workers.

Sandeep Rohilla President (Marketing & Sales) Bhilosa Industries Pvt. Ltd.
In fabrics we always try and bring some new innovation for the customers. Nowadays, the industry is a little slow, as manufacturers are more but demand is less. There is fabric lying in the market which has not been exported or consumed in the domestic market, so it’s a tough time for last four months. We expect maybe after Diwali things to improve. The govt.
should meet some fabric experts and fabric councils to take some positive steps for the development of this industry. There is a lot fabric being imported from China and Bangladesh at cheaper rates. So, govt. has to take some steps to protect Indian fabric industry. Apart from yarns, our company is producing around 150 tonne per day fabrics. In terms of manufacturing capabilities, Indian mills are at par with our neghbouring countries..

Narendra Proprietor Keona Textiles
The yarn in India is produced by small industries and units which largely cater to local markets. Thus, while many spinners export cotton yarn, many garment manufacturers have to import fabric. Therefore, there is a mismatch between the two. The industry is facing a lot of challenges today. Most of the machinery installed in cotton mills are outdated and need to be replaced. Besides, irregular power supply also hampers production. The cotton industry is facing tough competition from the fibre industry.
Competition in foreign market – The Indian cotton textile goods is facing stiff competition in foreign markets from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan whose goods are cheaper and better in quality. It is really paradoxical that in a country where wages are low and cotton is internally available, production costs should be so high.

Sunil Goklani Founder Indifusion Apparels India Pvt. Ltd.
Quality, variation of fabric, and timely deliveries are some of the issues which are major challenges in fabric sourcing. Further, to add to the above said issue, is copying of the fabric texture and designing by the manufactures which negates the hard work of brand which is put into designing fabrics in terms of prints, weave, checks placements etc.
The Indian fabric manufacturers are not competitive enough. The product quality is major issue with most of the manufacturer as they tend to just work on their profits and operate in unorganized sector. The tough competition from China and other countries in terms of quality and pricing of fabric will ultimately give a hit to the Indian manufacturers’ in-case they don’t change their way of working
As stated earlier, the fabric mills should invest in R&D to make some innovative fabrics with good quality. Price also plays an important role in acceptance of garment with customers. The government should make some policies to support Indian manufacturers which should help them in procuring raw material, dedicated manufacturing area within city limits and taxation.
Nowadays, natural fabrics are in trend. Hand woven fabrics like Ikkat, Cotton, Linen, Rayon, Voil and Cambric are some of fabric which are in trend and will remain so in near future. The time has come when the customer is more focused on organic/natural fabric with are made in a way that is high on fashion with comfort.

Neeraj Sharma Head – Product Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd.
The sourcing base is getting narrowed to an extent that all the organized mills are limited and is approachable to all the brands. These mills showcase their common collections of a given season to all the national brands thereby an element of differentiation is not there, there could be a cases when similar designs can be seen used by two different brands across varied price points in line with the cost to MRP multiplier they operateat
New product development at the mill level involves certain costs to procure new yarns/fibres/finishes etc. Most of the cases in involves procurement challenges like MOQ’s (Minimum order qtys) to be placed with yarn/fibre suppliers. Hence these mills shy away from new product developments
The two mills that are doing best new product developments are Arvind Mills & to a certain extent Vardhman as well. They showcase their new developments during the mill week presentation spread across two seasons..spring summer & autumn winter. Today, there is hardly any new mill setting up their base in India owing to costly operations/set up cost involved and the diminishing ROI (returns on investments). Operational feasibility forces these mills to focus on value format business and exports that can get them volumes to keep their machines running.
Pressure from the brand side to keep a tight control on fabric prices discourages them to put special focus on the brands requirements as their quantity will always be small in line with other two formats discussed above. Majority of the leading menswear brands too will have their limitation to reach out to MOQ’s involved with new product development involving new yarns/ fibres. The lead times for the fabric development is also not reducing, brands are tremendous pressure to work close to the season due to changing market trends but the fabric manufacturing and delivery time still not reduced.
With govt. imposing anti-dumping duties on few yarns like linen, import has been majorly hit, with the scarcity of this yarn, the prices have sky rocketed with Indian mills offering similar blends. There are few entrepreneur who ate textile experts and have started their new ventures tying up with Indian mills for reaching out to these brands with complete package since they understand the DNA of each brands after heading these established mills with their decades of experience. The govt. needs to give them some additional benefits by considering them as SMSE’s as they could really transform the changing fashion facets of the industry.
Majority of the brands too are reeling under tremendous pressure to reduce their cost as rental space going up dramatically, lower fresh business, consolidation of discount business across all formats, SOR( sale or return model), Goods return resulting in managing inventories etc., low ROCE (Returns on capital employed) etc. The brands are forced to reduce their product development costs resulting in hardly any differentiation across offerings of different brands operating in the same league. Lots of Chinese mills forced to shut down for environment hazard reasons, the pressure on manmade fabrics looms large on the local brands.
Too many Indian mills producing basic fabrics to serve the global requirements have made their name on global maps like Raymond, Arvind, Vardhman etc. as they are cheaper in terms of cost in comparison to their international counterparts. On the contrary, none of the Indian garment brands could foray globally for the lack of product development required to reach out to changing Indian fashionable consumer.
Land/electricity/labour/raw material/ min wages cost escalation will not help the textile industry to focus and deliver on value added products to compete with global mills who are focusing only on new product developments to make a mark. Government initiatives are solicited to provide a level playing field in line with the countries like Bangladesh/ Vietnam/Cambodia etc.
This could only happen through technology up gradation and new incentives measure that can be passed on to this textile industry that is reeling under severe pressure and really needs a breather. Setting up smaller manufacturing units through skill development training programme in rural/semi urban areas can also be a good initiative for employment generation as well. The fabrics in vogue are value added blends involving TENCEL/MODAL/ LINEN/XCEL/ across both menswear as well as womens wear garments across brands for their soft hand feel and drape and being light fabrics.

Kamal Khushlani Founder & Managing Director MUFTI
While Mufti has earned a reputation in the market right since its inception 21 years ago, I have been involved in the business for a far longer tenure and have witnessed the shift and transformation in the textile industry seen in the last five years. Playing a key role in this above-mentioned shift has been technology which has led to the rise in global interconnectivity, exposing those living in the remotest of areas to the latest trends.
While sourcing fabrics, there are many trials faced in different aspects apart from the technical parameters like physical strength and chemical compositions etc. Each fabric needs to be finished to its merit to achieve the appropriate hand feel, finish and drape. The main challenge for us is to obtain all these in the necessary timeline required and price it correctly without compromising on the quality of the fabric. It’s all a balancing act at the end of the day and those who manage to do it successfully, separate them from the rest.
Indian fabric manufacturers are competitive enough in terms of product quality and price. These manufacturers are equipped to cater to domestic and the global market. But like any other field, there is a lot of room for improvement. The right kind of investment in research and development will only further help in innovation, as that’s the key in today’s day and age. From brands to buyers, everyone is in search of something new, something different. Indian fabrics are very versatile in nature and when it’s given the human touch, it further enhances its sophistication making it unique to our country. We, at Mufti, take pride in sourcing fabrics primarily from India pushing forth the idea of think global and source local Comfort is in trend nowadays, with most workspaces approaching a more casual work-wear culture leading to Athleisure wear gaining momentum. Linen & cotton blends along with Modal & Viscose blended with cotton are reacquiring its popularity in the industry. Consequently, fabrics which are breathable, comfortable providing an amazing touch and feel are the fabrics which will work well/find more takers in the future.
The Indian Govt. is taking various initiatives in creating/developing apparel parks in numerous Indian States to meet the rising demands of the market. Policies and investments need to be made to focus more on research and development and increase productivity. This will in turn enable our manufactures in providing the competitive pricing required to place us a above our counterparts across the world.

Akash Manwani Assistant Vice President D’Cot by Donear
Most prominent challenges faced during fabric sourcing include timely delivery from the source and strict quality control norms. These factors are also important for gaining consumer trust and building longterm relations with them.
Competition prevails in every sector, including the fabric and textile industry. Every player, Indian or international is competitive enough to establish and retain its position in the market. Since quality and price are two most essential criteria for a product to qualify as good or bad, Indian manufacturers are highly competitive in these categories. Government initiatives pertaining to various fabrics like wool, cotton, poly-viscose, Lycra and others will be a huge boost for the fabric industry at large.
As far as trend nowadays is concerned, choosing the right kind of fabric is totally an individual’s choice. Therefore trends vary from person to person. However, one common trend that never goes out of style is the trend of light-weight and comfortable fabrics.

Abhishek Yadav Head of Design Spykar Lifestyle Pvt Ltd
Minimum order quantities is an issue when we are looking at smaller quantities, due to fabric quality having various levels of defects, we end up buying more quantity and mill costs have increased with respect to raw material and labour – which reflects on the cost price for the brands. There are fabric manufacturers like Arvind, Raymond, Mafatlal, KG Denims who offer great quality, follow all the norms and regulations as well. They are working heavily on ensuring sustainability. Also, in comparison with the international mills we feel they offer competitive pricing.
However, the raw material cost needs to be controlled. On the sustainability front – the process and the raw material are cost heavy, hence makes it less doable for most of them. To make it more approachable the cost reductions need to be factored in. In terms of fabric trend nowadays, cotton fabrics with high reed picks, linen and linen fabrics, experimental weaves like dobby, jacquards, cotton modals, linen modals with different constructions and fabrics with sustainable methods used are in demand.

Sharad Venkta MD & CEO, Toonz Retail
The challenges we are facing in fabric sourcing are competitive quality and pricing against China manufactured fabrics. MOQs (Minimum Order Quantity) for Kidswear fast fashion, which restricts brand to change the look of the store every 2 months. To solve this issue, fabric mills and the govt. should develop a channel for brands where there is directly dealing with mills in small MOQs to provide fast fashion in kids segment. When it comes to competiveness, there is a long way to go when compared with China for Indian fabric manufacturers in terms of product quality and price.
In terms of fabric trends for infants wear nowadays comfort and safety norms are going to come into play which are essential requirements for European markets. In kidswear breathable fabrics and sportswear fabrics are in good demand.

Vinamra Mudra Manager Marketing, Arvind Ltd. (Division Ankur Textiles)
We are a division of womenswear from the house of Arvind. Our main products are voiles and dress material segment, where we are doing different multifibre products such as viscose, rayons, modals, and poly cotton blends. Besides, cotton Lycra especially in ladies trousers is doing well. Fabrics industry has been bit low from last year. As far Arvind group is concerned we are able to increase our turnover in terms of sales. Due to market scenario, unorganised players are shifting to some other businesses and trying to get away from fabric industry.
Industry is facing cash flow issue as cash flows are not getting generated like last year. Fabric manufacturing is good in India but Bangladesh and Vietnam are also giving tough competition due to various benefits and advantages they are having over India. However, India is doing very good in raw materials i.e. fabrics and yarns. Govt. has reduced certain subsidies it used to give the industry and also has increased prices of electricity in some States. So, reducing electricity rates and providing more subsidies are two demands, if the govt. fulfills will be good for the industry.

Rahul Agarwal Director, GBTL
Well if you talk about challenges then there are a couple of them. One major challenge in the process of fabric sourcing is timely delivery of goods from the companies facilitating the sourcing. Observing strict quality check measures also has certain implications in the process.
It would not be wrong to say that competition is the source of growth. Talking about competition, enough competitiveness can be witnessed on the domestic level in the fabric industry. Indian fabric manufacturers are quite competitive as the government has protected them with certain import duties. However, at a global scale, China is more competitive in products like cotton shirting, knits and special finish fabrics.
Development of favourable policies catering to different fabrics segment including cotton, poly-viscose, stretch, etc. can be a motivating step undertaken by the government that will help in the blooming of this sector. These days, trends are often synonymous with comfort factor.
However, to be precise, there is an immense demand for Stretch in all kinds of apparels, be it top wear or bottom. In fact, brands have moved their bottom wear segment to 90 per cent stretch fabrics in formal, casual and denim category. This trend is popular not only domestically but globally as well. In the near future, there will be a huge demand for the stretch in top wear category too. Knits are playing a big role in top wear shirts which will be a ruling trend in the future.

Sandeep Raut Chief Marketing Officer Laguna Clothing LLP
Reliability: It is the single biggest challenge we face in the Indian mill sector. OTIF (On time in full) order completion is a great challenge. We work with 4-5 best mills in India for shirting fabrics however we struggle to reach 85 per cent OTIF with these mills. If we go to second rung mills, the OTIF figures will go down to 50-70 per cent. So professional approach to achieve excellent order completion figures is missing.
Somewhere complacency has set in with the standards. If we go to Chinese mills, they are not satisfied with anything less than 100 per cent OTIF. This is a big difference in the customer centric mindset. This is extremely important in case of exports as delay in fabric means delay in order, which means we need to airfreight the consignment which puts entire supplychain in losses.
Innovation – Fabric innovation, technical finishes, performance finishes is a big area where Indian mills are not present even today. They need to catch up very fast as we are missing big business in the US market because of this. Especially in men’s shirt which is a huge business we are not able to compete with China because these fabrics are not available in India. Here we expect government to make these fabrics available in India and make these fabrics duty free and keep the export benefit like domestic fabrics in the meanwhile.
To solve this issue we have several expectations from fabric mills and the govt. as below: Mills – Professional management, focus on perfect order completion and innovation in fabric and performance finishes. Government – To provide incentives to mills to develop performance fabrics so that these fabrics are domestically available. Secondly, to allow exporters duty free imports and export benefit like domestic fabrics for imported fabrics to bring this business to India. Currently, India has zero share in this business.
If we talk about competitiveness of Indian fabric manufacturers, I think the performance of mills depends on what fabric categories are we talking conventional or innovative Conventional Fabrics – Yarn dyed, piece dyed and printed. Here Indian mills are competitive in terms of quality and price. However, production lead-times are 2-3 weeks higher than Chinese mills. They’re not trying to improve on this as if an Indian customer wants to import the Chinese fabrics they will need to allow 2-3 weeks for transit of fabric from China to India. The rating for Indian Innovative fabrics – Ready for garment dip, non-iron, cotton polyamide spandex, wicking, 4 way stretch and others. In this category, we have no supply chain in India. So big time problems. Even if we try to get these developed, we fail miserably. So a lot needs to be done by mills in this category. The rating for this will be 1/10 for Indian industry where as China and Taiwan will easily score 9/10.
Performance fabrics and prints are a big fashion today. For performance fabrics innovation is missing which I have already covered. For printed fabrics, India is the most competitive place in the world. However, in terms of quality and design we’re lagging compared to European mills. Order completion on time in full is also a problem. However, I will still give 7/10 in prints for Indian textile industry for prints.
We are in leading of manufacturing, supplying and exporting a wide range of fancy fabrics. These fabrics are made using supreme quality threads and yarns, procured from the most trusted vendors of the market. Our wide range of fabrics offered by us includes embroidery fabric, digital printed fabric, fancy printed dupatta, plain fabric. These designer fabrics are highly appreciated by our wide client-base for their tear resistance, colour fastness, unique designs and perfect dyeing.

Animesh Saxena Managing Director Neetee Clothing Pvt. Ltd
Major challenges are getting the right quality and on time delivery. MOQs are higher while buyers are looking at lesser and lesser MOQs. Another challenge is processing (Dyeing & Printing) of the fabrics. Very few modern and good process houses are currently operating in NCR. Quality parameters specially Colour matching, Shade variations, controlled shrinkage are major cause of worry. Prices are not rational.
Fabric mills have to be more modernise the machinery, better qualified trained technicians. They need to more customer oriented. Right now their attitude is “Take it or leave it “Especially to small exporters. Government should promote and incentivize modern mills.
Indian fabric manufacturers are not competitive enough in terms of product quality and price when compared to others. That is why we are losing bulk business to Bangladesh and Vietnam. Trend wise these days more and more man made fabrics, viscose modal, fabric with texture, cotton/ wool/ linen blends etc. are in demand.

Raja Gupta Director Prism Exim
Viscose fabrics are more in trend right now. People have migrated more from cotton to mix blended fabrics. When it comes to fabric sourcing, on time delivery issues are very rare because we source fabrics directly from our reliable mills.
Quality consistency is always there. We are not behind other countries but are at par with them. Besides, the govt. should speed up the process of GST refunds as capital gets blocked for certain time there.

Satish Singhal Partner Mint Impex
Trend wise prints are little slower and yarn dyed fabrics mostly stripes are coming up. In India, the major problem is that if something is in demand next day itself its fabrics prices gets increased by giving reasons like yarn price or labour cost being increasing. Govt. should do something for this and in fact for labour laws also.
In terms of fabric manufacturing capabilities, when compared to our neighbouring countries quality wise we are ok. Most of the Indian manufacturers are making yarn dyed fabrics on auto looms not power looms nowadays. But sudden increase of price is not acceptable. Also quality wise, only some manufacturers are conscious, not many. Besides, on time delivery is also an issue sometimes. Govt., should simplify the labour laws. They should be more flexible and industry friendly.

Amit Gupta Proprietor Pearl Apparels
We are a 70 year old company, and I am the third generation looking after the same. Few years before we entered garment export business. We have more than 2,000 people working in our company. Indian fabric industry is an unorganised sector because of that you don’t know whether your order will be executed properly on time and with perfect quality or not. Supply chain is completely unorganised and without govt. support Indian textile industry can’t grow. In India, textile today is the second largest industry after agriculture providing employment to around 40 cr people who are directly or indirectly connected with the same. Due to no proper support and strict rules, India is unable to manufacture heavy GSM fabrics for winters today. Even if it is getting manufactured at some places than that too in very low quantity.
The labour laws should be re-written in a way so that product factory could be able to comply with and run at full capacity. Labour laws which are followed were written so many years back, when scenario was completely different. As per the rules Indian garment factory worker is not allowed to do more than 16hrs overtime in a month. So, in this case they are hindering him from earning extra money. Because of this many Indian factories are running uncompliant or are maintaining double records.
So, the labour laws should be relaxed and made more industry friendly to make this industry globally competitive. Besides, in countries like Bangladesh ESI and PF are optional but in India it is compulsory. The workers money gets deduced due to this and in major cases their money keep lying with the EPFO department for years, and also they are not using the ESI hospital facilities. The govt. should enroll them into their Aysuhmaan Yojna instead.
Besides, quality wise we are stable and doing well globally. If crude export is limited or stopped than Indian apparel and textile trade will be better. Today several counties are importing yarn and fabrics from India and after making the final garment selling at lower price than us in global market. So, if crude export is stopped than it will definitely help us in improving our competiveness in the world market. In terms of trend, these days’ cotton and sustainable environment friendly fabrics are in good demand among buyers overseas. Besides, buyers are also demanding recycled fabrics nowadays.

Jatin Sopra Sopra International
We have been designing high design fashion cloths, majorly dresses. These days rayon crape is ruling the market. Indian fabric mills are competitive enough when we compare ourselves with neighbouring countries.
Our mills are maintaining the quality consistently and giving on time deliveries also. As far as growth of our industry is concerned, duty drawback should be increased by the govt.

Rohit Mundra CMO Shree Krishna Tex (Leela Fashions)
There are several challenges we are facing when it comes to fabric sourcing. Lack of knowledge amongst buyers is not something new in the market plus there’s an atmosphere of distrust given the many fraudulent cases that takes place very frequently and more often makes it to headlines.
As a buyer you always head first to the people you know or friends and family as only those are the reliable people to know starting a business with a stranger would be new in textile business. Also sustainability is a challenge, maintaining long-term relationships is tough with difficulties such as balancing the lead time, right deliveries is very challenging to any brand. To solve the issue, a contact book can be made available, a book full of businesses who manufacture or a further more verification of the business can be made public. People can simply buy a book and know what to buy and from whom much like how Facebook and Instagram verify a page so can a central body working for the interests of textile industry, by this way a wall of strangeness could be broken down and new contacts can be made for a viable future.
Indian fabric manufacturer are competitive enough in terms of product quality and price. The competition is high and that’s what is pushing everyone to come up with new designs and products, the competition works as a backbone of an industry. But when it comes to competing with global market we are far behind countries like China, Vietnam Even USA’s costing with many fabrics is cheaper than in India. We can only hope for now for a drastic change in the near future.
As far as fabric trends nowadays is concerned, cotton has been the Kingpin of the textile industry but there’s a new fabric that’s replacing it and its Rayon, because of the increase in demand of Kurtis for past 1 year and has been constantly increasing Rayon is the next future in market as businesses are shifting to manufacture rayon and people are buying more and more rayon fabrics, future looks good with Rayon and its products.

Rajesh Kumar Surana Director Sabnam Exports (P) Ltd
Our company was established in 1972 and doing exports since 1990. Our speciality is knitted garments mainly womenswear. When we compare Indian fabric mills with foreign mills, foreign mills are faster in supplying fabrics. Firstly, it takes 40-45 days here for us to get fabrics in-house. Secondly, as we do smaller quantity it becomes difficult to source on time sometimes.
So, if fabric gets delayed our final product supply is also delayed. Expected lead time to deliver a fabric should be 30 days, than only we can deliver in 60- 65 days. So, if we’ll get fabric in 40-50 days we can’t deliver final product before 90-100 days. As far as fabric quality is concerned, we always try and maintain quality consistency at our end.

Ishant Sadh CEO, S.K. Dyeing & Printing Works
Modal, rayon crapes, viscose, poly chiffons are in trend nowadays. Occasionally, cotton also which is always there in demand. Govt.
should increase drawback percentage, which had been reduced. Importation tax for all the countries should also be reduced to boost apparel exports from India.