IMPRESSIONS from a Cross-section

Indian products were known worldwide for their fine design, embellishments and craft. Thanks to ethnic diversity and cultural multiplicity in India's hinterland, several designs and a variety of costumes, embroideries and apparel are used to enrich the design possibilities of Indian textiles and garments. All of them have made a mark nationally, except kasuti. I also believe zardozi is yet to make an impact internationally.

The biggest importers of hand-embroidered garments from India are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Nigeria.

The main challenges facing this industry are obsolescence, labour problems, vagaries of raw material, lack of modern facilities and sluggish organisation. We suggest the following solutions to them:

*        Favourable trade policies to promote exports

*        Superior quality products to increase demand

*        Integrated Skill Development Scheme, which aims to train more than 26,75,000 people up to 2017 covering all sub-sectors of the textile sector including textiles, apparels, handicrafts, handlooms, jute and sericulture.

*        Schemes for integrated textile parks providing world-class infrastructure to new textile and embroidery units.

*        Centres of excellence, focused on training and evaluation.

*        Hubs providing training and resource.

*        Allocation of ?500 million towards setting up a trade facilitation centre and a crafts museum to develop and promote handloom products to carry forward the rich tradition of Varanasi under the Make in India initiative.

*        Allocation of ?2,000 million towards the proposed setting up of mega textile clusters in Bareilly, Lucknow, Surat, Kutch, Bhagalpur, Mysore and Tamil Nadu.

Pointed and favourable policies instituted by the government will give the industry a fillip. Hundred per cent FDI is allowed under the automatic route in the textile sector. Also, setting up training centres, resource centres and trade centres can promote the growth of Indian embroideries internationally.

The size of the hand-embroidered garments should be approximately Rs 600 to 750 crore per annum.

To reinvent the age-old tradition of embroidery to suit demographics and rising per capita income, making it a favoured branded product, is the latest trend in this industry.