NEWS ABOUT TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran today asked the domestic apparel industry to target exporting
$25 billion worth garments by 2012, up from $22 billion recorded in the last financial year.

"The apparel export industry provides employment to 2.5 million workers directly and three
million indirectly, earns foreign exchange of Rs 50,000 crore annually and the need of the hour is
to raise the level of exports to $25 billion by the year 2012," Maran said.

With the system in place to propel such exports, Maran even voiced for a $90-100 billion exports
in the segment in the next 25 years.

While giving away the Apparel Exports Awards and Life Time Achievement Awards organised
by Apparel Export Promotion Council, the Minister said such exports contribute to 13.5 per cent
to the country's merchandise exports.

"Our presence in international textiles trade is minimal," he added.

The prime reason for our low share in international trade is the pre-dominance of low-value
items in the export basket.

"We have to exploit the opportunities offered by the free market economy, while weaknesses
hindering our growth have to be eliminated or their impact minimised through well defined
initiatives to emerge as a strong international cost and quality competitive textiles economy,"
Maran said.

Glimpse of the Indian Textile Industry

India produces a wide range of home furnishings, household linen, curtain tapestry and yardage
made with different textures and varying thickness. The Handloom industry mainly exports
fabrics, bed linen, table linen, toilet and kitchen linen, towels, curtains, cushions and pads,
tapestries and upholstery's, carpets and floor coverings, etc. The Handloom industry has adopted
various measures and techniques to provide high quality and eco-friendly products to the world
market. The manufacturers in India are well aware that AZO free colours and dyes should be
used. India has discarded the usage of banned materials in the dyeing process with safe
substitutes, to ensure eco-friendliness of the products manufactured by the industry.

India’s World of Handloom

The Handloom industry mainly exports fabrics, bed linen, table linen, toilet and kitchen linen,
towels, curtains, cushions and pads, tapestries and upholstery's, carpets and floor coverings, etc.
The Handloom industry has adopted various measures and techniques to provide high quality
and eco-friendly products to the world market.
In the world of handlooms, there are Madras checks from Tamil Nadu, ikats from Andhra and
Orissa, tie and dye from Gujarat and Rajasthan, brocades from Banaras, jacquards form Uttar
Pradesh. Daccai from West Bengal, and phulkari from Punjab.

The Surat tanchoi based on a technique of satin weaving with the extra weft floats that are
absorbed in the fabric itself has been reproduced in Varanasi. Besides its own traditional weaves,
there is hardly any style of weaving that Varanasi cannot reproduce. The Baluchar technique of
plain woven fabric brocaded with untwisted silk thread, which began in Murshidabad district of
West Bengal, has taken root in Varanasi. Their craftsmen have also borrowed the jamdani
technique.

In the deportment of Woolen textiles, Woolen weaves are no less subtle. The Kashmiri weaver is
known the world over for his Pashmina and Shahtoosh shawls. The shawls are unbelievably light
and warm.

The states of Kashmir and Karnataka are known for their mulberry silk. India is the only country
in the world producing all four commercially known silks - mulberry, tasser (tussore), eri and
muga. Now gaining immense popularity in the U.S.A. and Europe  Assam is the home of eri and
muga silk. Muga is durable and its natural tones of golden yellow and rare sheen becomes more
lustrous with every wash. The ikat technique in India is commonly known as patola in Gujarat,
bandha in Orissa, pagdu bandhu, buddavasi and chitki in Andhra Pradesh.