It was like a brainstorming session for the recently appointed Textiles Minister of India Smriti Irani on the complete supply chain of the industry, as in recent two days she has met representatives of many Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and discussed the issues too. Similarly, Heads of the EPCs also appeared enthusiastic as the Minister assured them positively about their demands. Most of them met Irani for the first time since her joining as the Textiles Minister.
Some of the EPCs that met the Minister include The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL), The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC), Wool & Woollens Export Promotion Council (WWEPC), Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC), Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL), The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and members of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), Wool Industry Export Promotion Council (WOOLTEXPRO), and more.
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The Minister sought suggestions from Councils with a view of boosting exports and creating employment in the sector. She assured full support from the Government in solving the issues of the industry to lift exports. Various representatives apprised her about the problems and steps that need to be taken for the betterment of the industry. Some of the Heads of the Councils too gave detailed presentation about their specific sector.
M. Duraisamy, Chairman, PDEXCIL, told Apparel Resources, “It was quite a positive experience as the Minister gave us almost 30 minutes and listened very patiently. We explained her all the issues in the powerloom sector and she too discussed various points about the same.” There are 25 lakh powerlooms and 1.5 automatic looms in India and it is an important link of textile supply chain.
