Introduction:
The knitwear industry in India is over a century old. It originated in Calcutta and later spread to other parts of the country. It is believed that the first small scale hosiery unit was started by an enthusiastic entrepreneur of Calcutta in the year 1893 in a small shed in Khidderpur. This industry has since grown multi-fold and has been making significant contribution to our economy. Besides, there are several other units that are supporting this industry by producing related products. The important centers of knitwear industry in India are listed below:
Important Knitwear Centers:
1. Ludhiana in Punjab for woolen and synthetic knitwear.
2. Tirupur in Tamil Nadu for cotton knitwear.
3. Delhi (Gurgaon & Noida included) for synthetic knitwear.
4. Bangalore for cotton and synthetic knitwear.
5. Mumbai for cotton and synthetic knitwear.
Historical Perspective:
Till 1985, development of textile sector in India took place in terms of general policies. In the year 2000, National Textile Policy was announced. Its main objective was: to provide cloth of acceptable quality at reasonable prices for the vast population of the country, to increasingly contribute to the provision of sustainable employment and the economic growth of the nation; and to compete with confidence for an increasing share of the global market. The policy also aimed at achieving the target of textile and apparel exports of US $ 50 billion by 2010 of which the share of garments would be US $ 25 billion. Textile now accounts for more than 30% of the total exports and 45 % of this is knitwear (volume wise), though the share of knitted garments in terms of value is much less.
Current Status:
Nonetheless, knitwear is emerging as the fastest growing segment of Indian garment exports compared to all other segments, including woven garments and the mill-made garments. Within the textile industry, the role of hosiery or knitwear sector is increasing by the day. Knitted garments are preferred over woven garments all over the world due to comfort, stretch ability and easy breathe ability built within the knitted fabric structure.
The ongoing globalisation process is replete with threats from our competitors, particularly the export-led economies like China to de-stabilise our export and local markets. At the same time it also offers unlimited opportunities. In order to withstand the competition both in international and domestic markets and accelerate our export growth, it is imperative to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the textile industry
Strengths of Indian Knitwear
• Rich resources of raw material for knitwear industry. It is one of the largest
producers of cotton in the world and is also rich in resources of fibres like
polyester, silk, viscose etc.
• Highly trained manpower. The country has a huge advantage due to lower
wage rates which automaticallu makes the manufacturing rates reasonable.
• Highly competitive in spinning sector and has presence in almost all processes
of the value chain.
• Indian garment industry is very diverse in size, manufacturing facility, type of
apparel produced, quantity and quality of output, cost, requirement for fabric
etc. It comprises suppliers of ready-made garments for both, domestic or
export markets.
Weaknesses of Indian Knitwear
• Highly fragmented industry and is led by micro and small scale firms.
• The reservation of production for micro and small scale companies that was
imposed with the intention to help out small scale companies across the
country,
led substantial fragmentation that distorted the competitiveness of industry.
• Indian labour laws are relatively unfavorable to the trades and there is an
urgent need for labour reforms in India.
• India acutely lacks trade pact memberships, which restricts access to the other
major markets. |