Padma Awards: Is Textile and Apparel Industry getting due recognition?

Ever since SP Oswal of Vardhman Group was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 2010, there had been a drought amongst the Indian fashion and textile industry for such prestigious awards and it took over a decade’s time for a stalwart from the industry (under Trade and Industry category) to again get bestowed with the Padma Award. The veteran industrialist Prahlad Rai Agarwala – one of the pioneers of the Indian hosiery industry who has been at the forefront of the sector’s immense development for over four decades – has been selected for Padma Shri in 2022 in recognition of his distinguished service in the field of trade and industry.

As much as it is a satisfying news for the industry, the fact can’t be denied that other industries such as film, sports, literature, social activism and science among many others are way ahead in this matter and keep grabbing the Government’s attention every year. Of the total 128 Padma Awards that have been given in 2022, categories such as Art and Literature & Education received the highest number of Padma Awards – 33 and 32 respectively; followed by Social Work (12), Medicine (10) and Sports (9). On the other hand, Trade and Industry managed to get just 9 Padma Awards of which just one was handed over to Textile Industry!

Unlike the textile and apparel industry, the Information Technology (IT) industry has rapidly grown and has been a regular recipient of these awards in the last four years. Many stalwarts from IT industry on an average have won either of the three civilian awards such as Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google; Satya Nadella, Chairperson and CEO, Microsoft; Sridhar Vembu of Zoho; Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Info Edge Limited; Bharat Goenka of Tally Solutions; John Chambers of Cisco; and Shantanu Narayen, Chairman of Adobe.

Though the textile/apparel trade industry fails to get recognition from the Government, textile-related crafts/art sector is one area that has been given recognition over the years, albeit at a slow pace. Team Apparel Resources (AR) researched on the subject and identified at least 12 awardees in textile and apparel (and related areas) who have been conferred Padma Awards in ‘Trade and Industry’ and ‘Art’ categories. Of these 12, there are four stalwarts of the textile and apparel manufacturing industry who have been recognised due to immense contribution of not only their own companies but for the work they have done for the society.

S. P. Oswal, Founder, Vardhman Group – Padma Bhushan (2010)

S.P. Oswal, Founder, Vardhman Group has worked in multi-directions – be it his support to cotton farmers, the environment, or his contribution in educating people. Punjab witnessed a sudden drop in the yield of cotton, in 2001, due to devastation of crops and shrinking of cotton fields. SP Oswal, as a measure to bring back the cotton yield to desirable levels, started an initiative of village adoption, whereby the villagers were provided with advanced cultivation techniques and support such as soil testing and water and fertiliser management. The initiative was highly successful in improving cotton yield.

Oswal also established a trust in Ludhiana – Sri Aurobindo Socio-Economic and Management Research Institute under which Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management was opened in 2004 to create career-oriented and disciplined management professionals. Leading by example, S. P. Oswal has also contributed in the setting up of a public school, Sri Aurobindo Public School, in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, which started functioning in 1996. He is also Founder President and the force behind the establishment of Ludhiana Stock Exchange in 1983. All these contributions from his side were recognised in 2010 by the then Indian Government and S.P. Oswal was conferred with the third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan.

Rajinder Gupta, Chairman of Trident Group – Padma Shri (2007)

Another bigwig in the list is Rajinder Gupta, Chairman of Trident Group, nearly a US $ 1 billion flagship company that manufactures home textiles, papers, chemicals as well as generates power. A first generation entrepreneur, Rajinder is known for constantly building new standards and creating opportunities that impel growth for the society at large. A son of a very small-time cotton trader in Punjab itself, Rajinder was forced to drop out of school at an early age of 14 and soon after this, he began his career by doing odd jobs like making cement pipes, candles, etc., and earned Rs. 30 a day! Today the Trident Group has a turnover of more than Rs. 6800 crore. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Punjab State Planning Board and played an instrumental role in strengthening the planning process in the state, besides initiating schemes and projects for overall development of the state and welfare of the people. Rajinder was conferred Padma Shri in 2007.

A. Sakthivel, Chairman, Poppys Group of Companies – Padma Shri (2009)

Hailing from Tirupur, Dr. A. Sakthivel started out as a young ambitious entrepreneur in 1973. Through sheer hard work, dedication and innovative trade practices, he has sown the seed and nurtured Poppys Knitwear Pvt. Ltd. – worth US $ 50 million – to be one of the leading knitwear exporters of India. Sakthivel’s endeavours have resulted in placing Tirupur as a name to be reckoned within the global apparel market with respect to the knitwear industry, including the first-ever apparel order in India from US retailer Garan that is owned by none other than Warren Buffet.

Sakthivel undoubtedly is one of the most impressive industry leaders as far as apparel export is concerned and he has served top positions in FIEO, AEPC, TEA multiple times. Being the Founder President of Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA), his immense contribution to the growth of Tirupur exports has outstandingly grown from a mere Rs. 15 crore before 2005 to well over Rs. 26,000 crore in 2021. He is also a prime mover of so many visionary projects executed in Tirupur including Tirupur Export Knitwear Industrial Complex (TEKIC); Inland Container Depot (ICD); TEA Public School; New Tirupur Area Development Corporation Limited (NTADCL); NIFT – TEA Fashion Knitwear Institute; India Knit Fair Association (IKFA) and Netaji Apparel Park (NAP) to mention few.

Sakthivel holds the honour of being the first recipient of the Padma Shri award from the core apparel manufacturing industry in 2009.

Prahlad Rai Agarwala, Chairman and ED, Rupa Ltd. – Padma Shri (2022)

Prahlad Rai Agarwala, Chairman and ED, Rupa Ltd. has also played a critical role in the growth of the Indian hosiery industry. With a turnover of more than Rs. 1,200 crore, Rupa & Company is amongst the largest knitwear brands in India that has been setting trends for over four decades now. The company, founded in 1968, was traditionally a hosiery company, but its gradual shift from single product dependence to multi-layer offerings, including specialised womenswear, kidswear, casualwear and fashionwear across super-premium, premium, medium and economy segments has created a niche in the market. Under the leadership of Prahlad, Rupa became the first company in India from SUPIMA to make quality innerwear products made of qualitative American Pima cotton. In 2014, Prahlad was appointed as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Colombia in Kolkata.

Apart from these four prominent industrialists, Kasturbhai Lalbhai, Co-founder of the Arvind Mills (in 1969); Mungtu Ram Jaipuria, Swadeshi Cotton Mills (Kanpur) who is also the father of Rajaram Jaipuria, Founder of Ginni Filaments (in 1971) also bagged Padma Awards decades back!

Instituted in 1954, these awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President for approval. Padma Awards Committee, constituted by the Prime Minister and headed by topmost senior officials and four to six eminent persons as members, selects these awards.

Following are the other names in the industry that got honours through Padma Awards by the Government…

Before 2021, Hanjabam Radhe Devi and Biren Kumar Basak were not known names but when they received Padma Awards for their contribution in textile-related crafts (under Art category), the industry made a note of it! In the following year, two women Lalita Vakil from Himachal Pradesh and Lourembam Bino Devi from Manipur again got rewarded in the same field, rebuilding the faith of the artisans/craftsperson in the field they are dedicated to. Interestingly, master weaver SribhasSupakar got Padma Award in 2016, while his father was also honoured with the same award back in 1985.

Few of the other well-known names associated with the fashion industry having this honour include the senior-most fashion designer Ritu Kumar (2013); Laila Tyabji, Chairperson of Dastkar, a society for crafts and craftspeople (for handicrafts in 2012) and Runa Banerjee, Co-founder of Sewa, Lucknow, (2007) for social work. In 2013, when Ritu Kumar got this award, it was the first time a mainstream Indian designer was being accorded a Padma Award. “Too little, too late,” as said by Shefalee Vasudev, a noted journalist!

Apart from individual growth or impressive turnover over the years, the above-mentioned award winners from the textile industry have also readied a platform that has led the country to generate employment, fetch billions of foreign currency, and induce massive CSR activities to help out societies. Business activities of these players have also created huge opportunities for the thousands of stakeholders in their own supply chain as well as in the allied industries.