TRENDS AND GROWTH OF COTTON

TEXTILE INDUSTRY IN INDIA

Presented by Dr. Md. Sarfaraz Asgher

Associate Professor
University of Jammu
 Introduction
• India held a world monopoly in cotton textiles, since almost 1500 BC. In
the middle ages, Indian cloth, like Muslins of Dhaka, Chintzes of
Masulipatnam and Calicos of Calicut was in great demand in European
market. 
• But the advent of modern mills during Industrial Revolution and British
India’s discriminatory policy led to its collapse.
• The present cotton textile industry is an indigenous industry, since it was
started and developed predominantly on Indian capital and
entrepreneurship.
• India is second in global textile manufacturing and also second in silk
and cotton production.
• 100% FDI is allowed via automatic route in the textile sector.
Ideal condition for growth of cotton plant
 Cotton and Jute Growing Areas
• Cotton Producing
area mostly
concentrated in
north-westen,
western and southern
part of India.
• Jute producing area
are mostly found in
the eastern part of
the country.
 Growth of Cotton Textile Industry
• From Ancient India to Modern India, cotton was the most important
commodity traded. Cotton textiles have been around since 1818 AD.
• In India, cotton textile centres are located in four regions:
the Western Region, the Southern Region, the Northern Region, and
the Eastern Region.

Three phases
• Incipient Phase (upto 1900)
• Primary core (1900-1920)
• Post Independence
 1. Incipient Phase (upto 1900)
• The first cotton cloth mill in India was established in Fort Gloster,
near Kolkata, in 1818.
• Bombay was the main focal point of all development in cotton
textile industry because
– Parsee merchants had huge finances from cotton and opium trade
with China and raw cotton export USA during Civil War.
– Technical expertise was made availability by European firms
– Large cotton growing areas
– Port facility allowed for the import of machinery, chemical etc.
– Development of railways, in and around the Mumbai region.
– Availability of cheap unskilled labour.
– Climate advantage, humidity helped spinning without breakage.
 2. Primary Core (1900-1920)
• During World War I, supplies from other countries reduced, leading to
the growth of the industry.
• Swadeshi movement contributed to the development of the Cotton
Textile Industry. Other centers were Ahmedabad, Surat, Kalyan, Thane,
Vadodara, Bharuch, and Pune.
• The dispersion of Cotton Textile Industry was two-directional:
– North Direction – Delhi (Malwa region provided cheap raw materials). Princely
states provided free land and capital.
– Eastern diffusion was mainly on the Telangana and Deccan lava Plateau
area. Expanded up to Nagpur in the east and Hyderabad in the South East.
• Industry also reached some places with additional advantages such as:
– Nagpur – due to nearness from coal mines
– Kanpur – due to excellent financial facilities
 3. Post Independence
• After independence, cotton textile industry declined.
• Because of partition, most of the long-staple cotton-growing areas went to
Pakistan in 1947.
• India faced a severe shortage of raw cotton as a result of these circumstances.
• In Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, spinning is still centralised, but
weaving is highly decentralised.
• There are 1,946 cotton textile mills in India as of 30 November 2011 with about
80% in the private sector and the rest in the public and cooperative sectors.
• There are thousands of small factories with three to ten looms in addition to
these.
 Present Status of Cotton Textile Industry

• India is the 2nd largest producer of cotton textiles in the world. It is

also one of the largest industries in terms of employment, production,
and exports.
• In India at present, cotton cloth is produced in 3 sectors:
– Mills – Mills share has come down from 80% in 1950 to 3.3% in 2005-06
– Power looms: Power looms accounts for 85% of total production in Cotton
Textile Industry. They are concentrated in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka.
– Handlooms – They account for 12.5% . There are nearly 38 lakh handlooms in
India mostly located in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh.
• Cotton Textile Industry is no longer an off-season occupation. It is an
ancient industry, which has declined due to political and economic
factors.
Difference betweem handloom and Powerloom
Factors influencing location and distribution

• Raw material:
– raw cotton is an easily transportable commodity, and many areas with
cotton mills do not grow cotton. However, Cotton Textile Industry is
concentrated in the region of raw cotton production.
– Distribution of over 90% of the industry is co-terminous with the
cotton-growing tracts in the relatively drier western parts of the
peninsula and the Great Plains.
– Large centers like Ahmadabad, Coimbatore, Solapur, Nagpur and
Indore are situated in areas of large-scale cotton cultivation. Even
Bombay enjoys this locational advantage to a lesser degree as
compared to the cotton-producing areas of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• Market
– Situated in the tropics and sub-tropics the
country enjoys a warm climate and cotton
cloth is in use for the whole year.
• Cheap labour:
• Cheap and efficient means of transport
• Abundant power supply and fresh water.
• Government policies.
 Distribution of Cotton textile Industry

• The cotton textile industry is one

of the most widely distributed
industries in the country.
• Maharashtra and Gujarat
together account for a major
chunk of cloth produced in
India.
• Mumbai- Cottonopolis of India
• Ahmedabad- Manchester of
India
• Kanpur- Manchester of North
India
• Coimbatore- Manchester of
South India
• Maharashtra
– It is the leading producer of cotton yarn and cloth. It is the third most important
state from the point of view of the number of mills. Here Mumbai is known as
cottono-polis of India followed by Solapur, Nagpur, Pune, Jalgaon, Kohalpur, etc.
• Gujarat
– It ranks second in cotton yarn and cloth production and in terms of a number of
mills. Important centres are Ahmadabad, Surat, Broach, Baroda, Bhavnagar,
Cambay, Rajkot, Kalal, etc.
• Tamil Nadu
– It has the largest number of mills. Important centres are Coimbatore, Madras,
Madurai, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, etc.
• Uttar Pradesh
– The industry is concentrated in the western parts of the state where most of
the cotton is grown. Important centres are Kanpur, Modinagar, Moradabad,
Aligarh, Agra, Etawah, Meerut, Ghaziabad etc.
• West Bengal
– Most of the mills are located around Calcutta and Howrah and in the 24-
Paragana district. A large market, chief coal-producing areas, and port facilities
of Calcutta are the chief location assets. Important centres are Calcutta,
Howrah, Sodepur, Serampore, and Shyamnagar.
• Madhya Pradesh
– All the mills are concentrated in the cotton tract of the Western Malwa
Plateau. Important centres are Gwalior, Indore, Ujjain, Raipur, Dewas, Bhopal,
Jabalpur etc.
• Karnataka
– Important centre of production are Bangalore, Bellary, Mysore, Devangiri etc.
• Andhra Pradesh
– The industry has grown up in the cotton-growing areas of Telangana. Important
centres are Hyderabad, Warangal, Guntur, Ramagundam, Tirupati, etc.
• Kerala
– In Kerala Alwaye, Cochin, Alleppey, Allapanagar, Trivendrum have emerged as the
main centre for the production of cotton textiles
• Rajasthan
– In Rajasthan Kota, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ganganagar, Bhilwara, etc. are the main centre
for the production of cotton textiles
• Haryana
– Hissar and Bhiwani are the main centres of the cotton textiles industry in Haryana.
• Punjab
– Punjab has come up as a leading cotton-producing state in the country. New
varieties of cotton e.g. BT cotton are being introduced with R&D done
simultaneously on better varieties.
– Amritsar and Ludhiana main centres of the cotton textiles industry in Punjab.
• Delhi
– Delhi as also emerged as an important center for the production of cotton textiles
due to the presence of a huge market.
 Problems of the Industry
• Problems
1. Scarcity of raw cotton
2. Obsolete machinery
3. Erratic power supply
4. Stiff competition from
synthetic products, imports
5. Loss of foreign markets
• Effect
1. Import of raw cotton
2. low productivity, inferior
quality of finished
product
3. Decrease in efficiency and
loss of production
4. Loss of competitiveness.
5. Decrease in forex earnings
• Problems of raw materials
– Production of cotton textiles depends to a large extent on
the production of raw cotton. The cotton textiles industry
in those areas where the production of raw cotton is small
faces a serious problem.
– Increasing prices of raw cotton has pushed up the cost of
production substantially.
– Shortage of cotton which is now imported from Pakistan,
Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, and USA (long stapled cotton).
• Problems of power
– Frequent power cuts and load shedding have affected the
industry badly. This is a general problem for industry in the
country.
• Obsolete machinery and need for modernization
– This resulted in low productivity and poor quality.
– Textile machinery installed even 10-15 years ago become outdated
and obsolete, whereas in India, 60-75 percent of machinery is 25-
30 years old.
– Only 18-20% of looms in India are automatic, whereas the
percentage of automatic looms in Pakistan and China are 60% and
45% respectively.
• Low Labour Productivity
– In comparison to some advanced countries, India's labour
productivity is extremely low.
– A worker in India handles about two looms on average, compared
to 30 looms in Japan and 60 looms in the United States.
– If an American worker's productivity is 100, the corresponding
figure for the United Kingdom is 51 while India is only 13
• Strikes
– While labour strikes are common in the industrial
sector, the cotton textile industry suffers greatly as a
result of frequent strikes.
– The organised sector suffered a severe setback as a
result of the long-running strike in 1980.
– It took the government almost 23 years to realise this
and pass legislation to support the organised sector.
• Tough Competition
– The Indian cotton mill industry is up against stiff
competition from the powerloom and handloom
industries, synthetic fibres, and foreign products.
 Significance of Cotton Textile Industry
• India is the Second largest producer of cotton  It has an edge in low-
cost cotton sourcing as compared to other countries.
• Average wage rate
– 50-60% lower than that in developed countries,
• Design and fashion capabilities
– enabled Indian players to strengthen their relationships with global
retailers.
• Production facilities
– The industry is investing in technology and increasing its capacities
which should prove a major asset in the years to come.
• Large Indian players such as Arvind Mills, Welspun India. Alok
Industries and Raymonds have established themselves as ‘quantity
THANKS