It is an exciting time for India and the Indian textile industry. India is flexing its muscle in the international stage by exhibiting its IT powers

Indian Textiles and Information Technology. Indian textile industry is strong in all fronts of conventional sectors from fiber to fabric. India has one of the worlds leading polyester staple fiber producers; cotton production in 2006-07 is expected to reach 270 lakh bales, which will position India in the second place in global cotton output ahead of the United States and India is a leading exporter of apparels and home textiles. All these figures are very encouraging, but come with a caveat: China! In all these cases, Indian elephant is lagging behind the China dragon. The figure is very alarming in nonwovens. Currently, India produces only 35,000 tones per annum whereas Chinas output per annum is over 7.5 lakh metric tones.

It is necessary for India to race against China, particularly in textiles as the Indian textile industry is vital for the growth of economy and manufacturing in India. It is the largest breadbasket next to agriculture and a major foreign exchange earner. The overall growth of the Indian textile industry beyond the conventional fiber-garment sectors is much needed to fulfill the targets laid out in the 11th five-year plan.

The 11th five-year plan calls for the GDP growth to be in double digit by 2012 from the current 8.5% growth. China had already achieved a growth of 9.9% a couple of years back. More importantly, the manufacturing sector is expected to grow at a rate of 12-14% during 2007-2012. To achieve this target set by the National Manufacturing Competitive Council of India, contribution of the Indian textile industry is a must beyond the traditional regimes.

Generally referred to as nonwoven technical textiles, this non-traditional textiles sector is a growing one with an average annual growth of 7-8% even in industrialized nations like the US. Over the last two years, in the State of North Carolina in the US, there have been significant investments in the nonwoven industry from leading European and Israeli companies such as Jacob Holm Industries and A.F.G. Wipes, Inc. which showcases the confidence and market opportunities in nonwovens. What are the reasons for this?

Consumer demand for life style enhancement products such as feminine hygiene products, baby diapers, wipes and surgical drapes, convenience and economics. Majority of these products are nonwovens and hence there is enormous growth in the industry. According to estimates from INDA/EDANA, the nonwoven industry is worth over 22 billion US dollars in 2009. To be specific, the wipe industry alone is worth over 6 billion US dollars.

It is vital that Indias textile and manufacturing sectors embrace the high productive and high margin nonwoven industry in order to reach the target of 115 billion dollars by 2012. Government of India estimates that the non-traditional textile sectors contribution during the 11th five-year plan will be little over 12 billion dollars.

However, the nonwoven technical textiles sector is at infancy in India. Although, there is awareness of prospects and growth opportunities of this industry in India, large-scale interest to invest in the burgeoning sector is not prevalent among industry leaders. An important reason for this scenario is the lack of knowledge of the technology and products and their domestic and global demands. And, the huge infrastructure investments certainly deter the interests.

This is the reason, the US based Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) is coming to India. One prime reason for this venture is to enhance the awareness of the global opportunities for nonwoven technical textiles and to create interest in India to invest in this growth industry.

INDA will be soon establishing its office in India upon receiving the necessary approval from the Government of India. As the mission of INDA-India is to create a win-win situation for the Indian textile industry and INDA member companies, initial efforts will focus on the transfer of knowledge via a series of training courses/seminars.

In October 2007, a mega international conference on nonwovens is planned in Mumbai. This international forum will open doors for many leading nonwoven companies to know about the Indian market and industry, which will, in near future create JVs and marketing opportunities for both parties.

More importantly, Indian textile industry will be able to get a deeper understanding of the technology, products and interact with global players such as Freudenberg, Ahlstrom, Saurer-Neumag, etc. It is hoped that the INDAs international conference will spearhead the creation and growth of a major nonwoven industry base in India.

The Indo-US collaboration with the arrival of INDA in India will certainly boost the contribution of the Indian textile industry to the GDP and will attract FDIs in India. Simply put, INDA-INDIA cooperation will enable the Indian SMS consumer society to tap the potential and opportunities of the SMS technology (Spunbond-Meltblown-Spunbond nonwoven technology).

It is pleasing to report that the Indian Government is considering technical textiles as a thrust area and is promoting this sector with positive schemes. A sum of Rs. 96 crores has been requested in the 11th five-year plan for creating awareness and setting-up 6 centers of excellence.

It will be of immense benefit to set-up one center solely dedicated to nonwovens technology, which will be a One-Stop R&D center with pilot plant capabilities in four major nonwoven technologies: 1) needlepunch-thermalbond; 2) Spunbond; 3) Meltblown and 4) Spunlace. Such an endeavor is not possible with an investment of 15 crores requested for the creation of one center. A public-private partnership and in this case, an international effort is needed.

With the involvement of INDA in India, Ministry of Textiles is provided with a helping hand. INDA member companies that are serious in creating opportunities for themselves in India will be encouraged to support such a joint endeavor as it provides a win-win situation. All stakeholders have to work towards achieving this goal, which in long run will create a self-sustaining nonwoven technical textile industry in India.

In recent past, Indian textile industry is looking for diversification beyond apparels and garment sectors and nonwoven/technical textiles industry is certainly an option. Already, Indian consumers are bombarded with mass media campaigns for nonwoven products such as Pampers and Huggies. With the retail industry boom on the horizon, there is certainly a bright future for the nonwoven industry in India.

Let us all work towards creating a thriving nonwoven industry in India.

About the author:

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar is Assistant Professor at Nonwoven and Advanced Materials Laboratory, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA. He is also Co-Chairman of INDA-India Committee, INDA, USA. He has come to India to promote Nonwoven Fabrics Industry.

Email: Seshadri.Ramkumar@TIEHH.TTU.edu

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