The 63rd Annual General Body meeting of The Southern Indian Mills’ Association (SIMA) Coimbatore, the single largest employer organization representing the Textile Value Chain was held at SIMA on 14th September 2022.Immediately after the 63rd AGM, the members of Committee at its first meeting unanimously re-elected Ravi Sam, Managing Director, Adwaith Textiles Private Limited, Coimbatore, as the Chairman for the year 2022-23. Ravi Sam is a commerce graduate and holds Post-graduate Diploma in Textile Technology from The University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology. He is the founder Trustee of Siruthuli, the movement of preservation of water bodies in Coimbatore. He is involved in various social welfare activities. He was the Chairman of CII Tamil Nadu and at present is the Chairman of CII SR Sub Committee on Sustainability, CSR & Affirmative Action working towards bringing inclusiveness to the marginalized sectors of the society covering all the six Southern States.
Dr S K Sundararaman, Managing Director, Shiva Texyarn Limited, Coimbatore has been unanimously re-elected as the Deputy Chairman for the year 2022-23. He holds an MBBS Degree and Masters inBusiness Management from Cambridge University, U.K. Dr Sundararaman is a well-known personality in the field of Technical Textiles in India and also in the field of Technical Education. He is the Managing Trustee of the Firebird Institute of Research In Management. He has been a member in various business forums at the national level. He was the past Chairman of CII, Coimbatore, Educational Convenor CII, Tamilnadu. Currently, he is the Chairman of Indian Technical Textile Association.
Durai Palanisamy, Executive Director, Pallava Textiles P Limited, Erode has been unanimously re-elected as the Vice-Chairman for the year 2022-23. He holds MBA in International Business from Southern New Hampshire University, Bachelor of Technology in Textile Technology from PSG College of Technology. He is the Vice-President of CII, Erode Zone. He is also in the Committee of Administration of The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC).
Ravi Sam has advised the textile industry to give priority in making investments in the renewable energy generation (Wind and Solar Power) to remain competitive and fulfill sustainability obligations. He has said that as the grid power has crossed Rs.8 per unit in almost all the major Textile manufacturing States except the States having hydel power generations the power intensive textile industry has lost its global competitiveness on power front. He has stated that since the power cost accounts over 40 percent of yarn manufacturing cost, it has become essential for the textile mills to plan for 100 percent captive power generations of wind and solar power.
Ravi Sam has said that the combination of wind power, solar power & IEX power has tremendous advantage and would enable the textile industry to remain competitive. He has pointed out that the Electricity Regulatory Commission Order enables the industry to opt for different combinations of power including wind, solar and open access to power rather that solely depending on grid power. Ravi Sam has appealed to Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to reconsider the steep increase in demand charges, wheeling charges, transmission charges and 6 percent annual increase in tariff linking the same to inflation rate so as to make the promised new investment become a reality and also sustain the competitiveness of the existing industry in the state.
SIMA Chairman has stated that the Association is playing a lead role in the Textile Advisory Group constituted by Hon’ble Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal under the Chairmanship of Mr. Suresh A Kotak in improving the cotton production, productivity and quality. He has said that as the country has become a cotton deficit one from the status of cotton supplierfromthe current cotton season, the industry has to cut down the production of 30-50 percent during July – October due to shortage despite blending Viscose Staple Fiber with cotton and sizably increasing the capacity under Man Made Fibre Spun Yarn.
Ravi Sam has appealed to the Hon’ble Prime Minister to remove the 11 percent import duty on cotton as the industry would face cotton shortage in the coming years, while appreciating the strenuous efforts made by the Government to expedite the conclusion of FTA’s with UK, EU and Canada apart from the FTA’s already concluded with UAE, Australia and Mauritius on a record time. He has pointed out that addressing the Raw Material structural issues, ensuring raw material security and making the quality raw material always available at an international competitive rate is essential to sustain the global competitiveness and achieving potential growth rate taking advantage of FTA’s and various export schemes. He has appealed to Hon’ble Prime Minister to retain the decision of removal of Anti-dumping Duty on all Raw Material, fibres and filaments of Man-Made Textiles to sustain the global competitiveness.
