• CHILD WORKERS RESCUED IN RAID
  New Delhi: The police have rescued 77 child textile workers in the third raid this week. The raid follows the reports that a local supplier to US clothing chain Gap was employing minors. The children were embroidering saris and Indian wedding clothes in dingy rooms in a New Delhi neighborhood. The children were as young as 10 years old and mostly from the impoverished state of Bihar. A few dozen children were rescued in two similar operations this week.
  The raids began after Britain's Observer newspaper reported on Sunday that a Gap supplier in New Delhi employed child labor. The accusation was denied, but Gap withdrew some garments from sale.
  
• TEXTILE SECTOR RECEIVES GOVERNMENT AID
  New Delhi: The Ministry of Textiles has announced a series of measures to bail out the struggling textile sector. These decisions will help the sector attract an investment of 150,600 crore in the next five years and achieve its targeted growth rate of 16 percent. Garmenting, technical textiles, processing segments and other sectors that have high value-adding and employment generation capabilities are particularly targeted.
  
• TEXTILE INDUSTRY SHOULD THINK GLOBAL, GO GLOBAL
  Coimbatore: It is time for the Indian textile industry 'to think global and go global', experts said at the inaugural session of Comptex 2007, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore Zone, along with The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA).
  Neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and others like Vietnam and Turkey 'have been building up their capabilities, and are expected to give a tough competition,' warned Martin Antony, managing director, Mothercare Sourcing India Pvt Ltd. The textile units in the region must have a global vision for sustainable growth. The participants were asked to focus on 'Margins, Accountability, Global thinking, Integrity and Capability' (MAGIC).
  The low profits of the Indian textile industry are due to the high cost of poor-quality power. Though the Indian Textile Industry is competitive in term of the cost of labour and capital, it is amongst the lowest profitable industry even in the best of times. The Indian textile industry directly employs 35 million people and supports cotton farmers with 25 million acres under cotton cultivation, which again employs more than 60 million uneducated and unskilled men and women from the rural areas, the industry leaders noted. The sector faces increasing raw material costs, poor off-take of yarns, steep rise in interest rate and, to top it all, the rising Indian Rupee.
  
• TEXTILE INDUSTRY FACING A DARK DEEWALI
  New Delhi: There has been a lot written now about the appreciating rupee. But this is the only problem which has crippled the textile industry so much that other problems have taken a back stage. Most of the textile players have shelved their expansion plans and cancelled new machinery orders. With the rupee rising roughly 12 per cent against the dollar in the current financial year, textile exporters have seen their margins eroded and tolerance levels for the inefficiencies in the business in India lowered. Jobs are being slashed, worker contracts in many companies have not been renewed, fabric is being imported from countries like China and Bangladesh, and many manufacturers are shifting their production base to other countries. Despite these efforts, the situation in the Indian textile sector, which provides employment to 38 million people and had a turnover of $37 billion in 2006-07, is rapidly turning into a major nightmare for promoters and their employees.
  
• MADHYA PRADESH STATE GOVERNMENT APPROVES 83 INVESTMENT PROPOSALS
  Bhopal: An apex committee headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has approved 87 out of 133 investment proposals received since 2004, worth Rs. 12,453 crores. Concessional package has been granted to 60 units. The Chief Minister will lay the foundation stone for the Rs 926 crore textile unit at Budhani which is expected to provide jobs to 3,000 people. A total of 55 projects with the investment of Rs 30,047 crore were under implementation in the state including 47 industrial projects (Rs 28,817 crore), four projects relating to infrastructure (Rs 926 crore) and two service projects (Rs 30 crore).
  
• HUGE OVERSEAS DEMAND FOR QUALITY COTTON
  Ahemdabad: Cotton prices have gone up from Rs. 43-45 per kg two years back to Rs. 50-52 per kg. Out of the total cotton exports of 70 lakh bales, China and Taiwan may account for nearly 60%. Cotton consumption in China has more than doubled to seven crore bales in the last five years, and Taiwan is also an emerging market. Higher quality production of cotton in India has led to the two countries offering high prices for our cotton. Indian cotton prices in the international market have increased almost 20% this year. The exports are expected to reach 70 lakh bales this year from 55 lakh bales last year. The cotton production in the country is expected to be 3.25 crore bales as against 2.73 crore bales last year. However, this has also had the side-effect of domestic denim and textile manufacturers being forced to pay more.
  
• MoU IN REGARD TO APPAREL IMPORTS SIGNED WITH SRI LANKA
  New Delhi: India and Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding to finalize the procedural arrangements for implementation of Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) for importing of 3 million pieces of apparel articles covered under the India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA). The MoU was signed by Shri Qaiser Shamim, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles on behalf of Government of India and Shri W.D. Jayasinghe, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles Industries, Sri Lanka on behalf of Government of Sri Lanka. Under the ISLFTA that was implemented on 1st March, 2000, it was stated that Sri Lanka could export to India, in one calendar year, three million pieces of apparel articles covered under ISLFTA, on duty free basis and without any restriction on entry points and sourcing of fabrics.
  
• PUNJAB APPROVES TEXTILE PROJECTS WORTH RS. 1500 CRORE
  Chandigarh: In a bid to generate more employment opportunities, the Punjab government has cleared nine mega textile manufacturing projects worth Rs. 1500 crore. After these projects are complete, a new industrial hub would be evolved which will give a boost to textile industry in the state. Aarti International Ltd. Ludhiana would be installing 60,000 spindles at Chandigarh road Ludhiana at a cost of Rs. 242.06 crore. Another project Avani Textile Ltd. Sangrur manufacturing cotton yarn would be set up at Sangrur at a cost of Rs. 134.50 crores. A project by Oswal Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd. worth Rs. 143.50 crores and Aggarsain Spinners Ltd. (ASL) worth Rs. 115.00 crore would be set up at Ludhiana. Similarly Shiva Fibers Pvt. Ltd. worth Rs. 145.21 crores and Grospinz Fabz Ltd. of Rs. 66.79 crores both cotton spinning units would be set up at Doraya in Ludhiana district and Muktsar-Jalalabad Road respectively. Vallabh Textiles Company Ltd. would setup integrated cotton yarns spinning and Towel Unit costing Rs. 124.71 crores at Ludhiana. Besides this an expansion of cement grinding Unit and 20 MW captive Thermal Plant worth Rs. 300 crore would be setup by Grasim Industries at Lehra Mohabat in district Bathinda. M/s Mukesh Udyog Ltd. Ludhiana would install 55200 Spindles and Processing of weaving units in nine phased manners at Ludhiana . This project worth Rs. 225 crore is expected to generate employment avenues to 1000 persons.
  
• TERRITORIAL TEXTILE INVESTMENT AND PRODUCTION COMPLEXES TO BE SET UP
  New Delhi: The textiles ministry has finalized a proposal to set up Territorial Textile Investment and Production Complexes (TTIPC) in the country. Like Special Economic Zones, TTIPCs will give tax concessions and labor laws for the units in the region. However, a TTIPC does not need to be geographically contiguous, and does not distinguish between units engaged in production for domestic market or export. A TTIPC is designated as a conglomeration of production and manufacturing units of textile and textile accessories including packaging, environmental protection units, public utilities, logistics, residential areas and administrative services. The core functional hub of TTIPC will house manufacturing, processing and associated logistics. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had underlined the need for investment regions in the textile sector while addressing the textile summit a month ago.
  
• INTEREST IN TEXTILE SECTOR STOCKS STILL CLIMBING
  Mumbai: The textile sector is buzzing on the bourses these days. This is largely due to the interest that is being shown in the sector by a few private equity (PE) firms, led by Blackstone. In the last month alone, four of the five most actively traded textile stocks have appreciated significantly. More than 50% textile companies have gained 10% or more during this period. Much of the action in textile stocks has been triggered by Blackstone's decision to acquire Gokaldas Exports. The sector is in great demand both from global as well as domestic markets. Textile manufacturing in developed countries is on the decline following the emergence of low-cost manufacturing base in countries like India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. These countries have seen a two to three-fold rise in textile exports to the US, the biggest textile market in the world. The heavy import duties on fabrics and apparels ranging from 20-60% provide a fair degree of protection to domestic textile manufacturers. However, increasing competition from other low-cost countries and the rupee appreciation is affecting the profit margin. This risk is minimized to a certain extent as textile companies can claim a 3% drawback on free on board (FoB) value of exports under a special government scheme.
  
• APPAREL PARK NEAR CHENNAI FACING ROADBLOCKS
  Chennai: The Apparel Park near Chennai being developed by SIPCOT on 123 acres of land has hit a roadblock. The park was to come up at Irungattukottai and was started by the Central Government to boost the apparel export industry. Today it has only basic infrastructure, communication and lighting in place. The project planned in the Tenth Plan period received Rs 10 crore from the center from land acquisition while Rs 6 crore for common facilities like the effluent treatment plant and design and training centre among others lapsed as it was used in time. SIPCOT had decided to request the Textile Ministry to renew the Rs 6 crore fund for undertaking further work. Five businesses have started operations in the park but are facing severe hardships due to lack of communication and sewerage facilities and poor infrastructure. SIPCOT floated tenders twice for constructing the common facilities but received no suitable response.
  
• RUPEE APPRECIATION STILL IN DANGEROUS WATERS
  Coimbatore: After the Indian rupee went down below 40 against the dollar for the first time in nine years the situation has become frightening as it has left several thousand workers jobless in the textile town of Tirupur. Out of the total workforce of 400,000 nearly 7,000 have already lost their jobs and more than 100,000 will lose their jobs if the situation doesn't improve, it is feared. The Finance Ministry, in its recent notification, has given service tax exemption only to two services. The exporters want all services rendered by them to be exempted from the payment of service tax and also fringe benefit tax. They also want the pre-shipment and post-shipment credit given to exporters reduced to six percent. The losses incurred by the exporters are about 15 percent against the government compensation of 6 percent.
  
• FASHION DESIGNER RITU KUMAR TO ATTEND NEW YORK CELEBRATIONS
  Mumbai: Ritu Kumar, veteran Indian designer, has been invited by the Government of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry to represent Indian fashion in New York. The ongoing 'India at 60' celebrations in New York will be attended by the who's who of New York, including the Clintons on September 23 at the Bryant Park. Her collection, of indigenous fabrics and techniques is intended to display the wonder of the country.
  It comprises of a Rajasthani sequence that details the desert regions of Rajasthan, with its myriad coloured bandinis and tie and dye prints, followed by hand-worked chikan outfits. Hand block printing, khadi outfits and a finale showcasing handwoven brocade saris of Benaras are also a major part of the show.
  
• RUPEE APPRECIATION GIVES EXPORTERS SERIOUS TROUBLE
  New Delhi: Exporters all over India are having serious problems as the rupee touches a nine-year high. The government wishes to maintain the export target, hence commerce department is planning to take some immediate measures to counter the current situation. Mr Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry minister has said that the continuous appreciation of the rupee against the dollar was a matter of concern. The finance minister had announced a package for nine sectors in July, but exporters have been claiming that it is not enough.
  Exports of garments have already started showing a decline over the past few months. Exports to the US market have gone down by more than 2% in the January-July 2007 period. FICCI suggested that it was time that the RBI lowered the rate of interest and intervened in the forex market more aggressively.
  
• MESSE FRANKFURT TO SPONSOR THREE TEXTILE EVENTS IN OCTOBER
  Mumbai: Mumbai will host three textile events next month under the banner of "Textile Days India." Techtextil India, Texworld India and Heimtextil India, will take place Oct. 10-13, 2007, at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai. The events are sponsored by Germany-based Messe Frankfurt.
  Techtextil India is the International Trade Fair for Technical Textiles & Nonwovens which will display the products and technologies of exhibitors from more than 13 countries. Heimtextil India is the India International Trade Fair for Home Textiles & Accessories. This is the 8th edition of Heimtextil. Over 250 exhibitors are expected to participate to promote their latest home textile products.
  This is the second edition of Texworld India. It is the International Trade Fair for Apparel Fabrics & Accessories, which will display the latest luxury apparel fabrics and accessories. It is the only global trade fair for the international apparel textile industry in India.
  
• TEXTILE EXPORTS TO BENEFIT FROM IDA AMENDMENT
  New Delhi: The Textile ministry has plans to help textile exporters to cut through a lot of red tape by amending the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA), 1947 to allow them to hire and fire labor at will. In the past many state governments have already liberalized labor laws to attract investment and promote large-scale manufacturing. The labor ministry is taking note of the developments and is expected to give nod for labor reforms in certain sectors. This may start with units facilitating exports, mainly the textile sector.
  A Cabinet vote has already been moved for the limited Amendment, to ease labor law restrictions for textile exporting units providing a minimum employment guarantee of 100 days a year. The textile ministry has also suggested that the working hours should be increased from the current 48 hours per week to 60 hours, and daily working hours from 9 to 12. To curb the sudden strikes the textile ministry also wants the notice period to be increased before a strike starts.
  
• TEXTILE SEZ PROPOSAL TO BE DISCUSSED IN BOA MEETING
  New Delhi: A meeting of the Board of Approval, headed by Commerce Secretary G K Pillai will be held on September 19, 2007 to consider 19 SEZ proposals, including induction of co-developers in the Navi Mumbai SEZ promoted by Mukesh Ambani and projects planned by DLF and TCS.
  The Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone wants to include 7 co-developers who are willing to invest Rs. 6000 crores to set up power plants, create transmission and distribution network, lay communication lines, provide water supply and sewage treatment, build industrial parks, schools, commercial and residential complex, and establish Internet and related services.
• TEXTILE PARK FAILS TO TAKE OFF
  Karimnagar: The Sircilla Textile Park, set up by the Central Government in 2003 to promote the textile industry in Tamil Nadu is still vacant of investors, despite having sold off a number of plots. The officials have now taken to notifications of cancellation of old allotments and invitations to new investors, yet even this strategy has only a low glimmer of hope.
  In the 60 acre textile pack a total 198 plots were laid and sold out to entrepreneurs (investors) at the park. Till date only 13 investors have set up their units and started production and 52 units are under construction. The reason for the poor response from investors is said to be the non-cooperative attitude of government officials.
  The Central Government has allegedly denied the promised subsidies in power supply and construction. Investors also stated that the park lacks basic facilities like water, drainage and roads. Government officials, however, claim otherwise.
  
• BANGLADESH TO SIGN MOU WITH INDIA FOR APPAREL EXPORT
  Dhaka: India's two year old offer to Bangladesh has finally borne fruit. According to this offer, strictly in accordance with the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) framework, Dhaka and New Delhi will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on duty-free entry of eight million pieces of Bangladeshi apparels into India per year.
  The garment exporters hope the move will help them to enter an alternative market, which will ease dependence on the traditional US and European markets for readymade garments.
  Abdul Wahab Mian, joint secretary, commerce ministry, and Mukta D. Tomar, deputy high commissioner, Indian High Commission, will sign the MoU on behalf of their countries in Dhaka.
  Export of the duty-free RMG products to India are expected to start in little over a month according to commerce ministry sources. Bangladeshi exporters are now free to export the RMG products made of either Bangladeshi or any other country's fabrics.
  According to the primary proposals by India, a portion of RMG products from Bangladesh should have been made by Bangladeshi fabrics and the rest ones by Indian fabrics.
• TEXTILE INDUSTRY ECSTATIC OVER COTTON SCENARIO
  New Delhi: The Textile Industry rejoiced as Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Secretary General D K Nair stated that "All conditions are favourable as we look at the entire scenario". According to his report, the cotton output is likely to increase by nearly 11 per cent to 310 lakh bales in the current season as compared to an estimated 280 lakh bales produced in the previous year. One bale of cotton weighs 170 kg.
  Thankfully, the increase in supply is not going to flex the prices, as consumption and export will also rise dramatically, chiefly because many mills have expanded their capacities. As the demand for cotton from China is on the rise for the last few years this year also the exports are bound to increase but the exact volume can not be predicted now, he said. India's cotton export stood at 55 lakh bales in 2006-07, of which 80 per cent went to China.
  The cotton acreage in the on-going kharif season stood at 90.54 lakh hectare till September 7 as compared to 86.41 lakh hectare in the year-ago period. Of this, 53.34 lakh hectare is under Bt cotton, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
• GOVT. ADVISED TO USE CAUTION IN TRADE WITH ASIAN COUNTRIES
  New Delhi: The Indian Textile industry counseled the government to be careful with its Bilateral Trade Agreements and Free Trade Agreements with Asian countries. The government should first take care of the targeted growth of local textile industry, and should not sacrifice the interests of the industry in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations.
  India is eager to sign FTAs with Thailand and the ASEAN. The industry has already suggested to the government not to go for tariff reduction for textile products while signing FTAs and bilateral trade agreements with Asian neighbours.
  Our close competitors for export include China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
  An investment of Rs 60,000 crore has been already made in the textile sector and a further investment of Rs 1,50,600 crore needs to be made for achieving the target and generating 12 million additional jobs.
• FARMERS REJOICE OVER GOOD BT COTTON CROP
  Ahemdabad: The shift from tradition crops to cotton has earned the farmers good money in Kutch. This year, cotton sowing has covered more than 65,000 hectares in Kutch. This year the cotton production has gone up to 6.5 lakh bales compared to 3 lakh bales last year. The premium quality of Kutch cotton will fetch handsome returns of Rs 1,000 crore for its farmers.
  The large numbers of spinning mills in the southern states have an eye for the massive cotton haul from Kutch, since the port facilities have made cotton export far easier.
  It is claimed that Kutch farmers were the first in country to experiment with the Bt cotton. Kutch cotton fetches higher prices than cotton grown in other areas as the crop in this region gets saline water, which is the best suited for this crop. Now, cotton growers are planning to set up their own auction yard in agriculture produce market committee at Anjar for its sale and purchase.
• TEXTILE MINISTRY TO COVER SKILL LABOR SUPPLY-DEMAND RIFT
  New Delhi: As part of the proposed National Skill Development Mission of the government to be launched soon in order to meet skill supply-demand gap that will emerge due to proposed investments of Rs 1,50,600 crore by 2012, the textiles ministry is working on a scheme for training 65 lakh people during the 11th Plan period. The training will be aimed at developing capabilities in areas of textile design, production and crafts.
  The contributors for the scheme include the following: Ministry of Rural Development providing Rs. 500 crore, state governments providing Rs. 250 crore, Textile Ministry providing Rs. 500 crore, and the Textile Industry also providing Rs. 500 crore. The scheme is a very large-scale project; 365 training centers are required across the country at grass root level for training 20 lakh people required at semi skilled and skilled levels.
  The capacity of managerial and technical level at National Institutes of Fashion Technology (NIFTs) and other fashion institutes will be increased. A council will work as a nodal agency and have 10 national resource centers spread region wise for coordinating and control of activities. Three centers of excellence for the requirement at managerial and technical level will be created at Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. The council will finance the capital expenditure on textile and apparel training centers. Operating cost of these centers will be met by self-generated income.
• GOVERNMENT TO SET UP NATIONAL SILKWORM SEED REGULATORY AUTHORITY
  New Delhi: The Government is planning to set up a National Silkworm Seed Regulatory Authority. The Minister of State for Textiles, Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan informed this in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. The Minister said that as per the provisions of Central Silk Board (Amendment) Act, 2006, Central Silkworm Seed Committee has been constituted vide Notification dated 10-8-2007. The Committee will lay down the standards for quality control of variety of silk-worm seed and production of silk-worm seed among other official duties. It will also be responsible for laying down the certification and silk-worm seed testing procedures for seeds sold by the registered producers, undertaking the registration of silk-worm seed producers and dealers and controlling, supervising the inspection process to ensure adherence to the specified quality standards and seed certification requirements, laying down the conditions and standards for export and import of silk-worm seed and adherence to them, programming and planning of silk-worm seed production, advising the Central Government and the State Governments on the matters aforesaid and such other matters connected and incidental to the production, supply, distribution, trade and commerce in silk-worm seed, as may be specified by regulations made by the Committee from time to time.
• BT COTTON FIELDS EMPLOY CHILD LABOUR
  Just like every year, once more small tribal children from across the border from Banswara, Dungarpur and Udaipur districts in Rajasthan have been brought by contractors to the Bt cotton farms in Idar Taluka in Sabarkantha district for the manual pollination of the plants. This barbaric practice, continuing unchecked year after year, forces young children into a life scarce better than slavery, working from four in the morning to late afternoon and earning a meager wage of Rs. 40 per day. It is estimated that every year more than one lakh tribal children below 14 years from poverty stricken Rajasthan, arrive to work for three months in the BT cotton seed farms of Sabarkantha and Banaskantha districts of Gujarat. Children are being employed primarily because they can be paid very low wages and made to work long hours. Even though there are strict laws for employing children, Bt cotton farms in these areas never care to follow any rules. For farmers here, these children are merely means to mint money.
• DEMAND FOR COTTON INCREASES
  Coimbatore: The Annual General Meeting of the Cotton Association declared favorable conditions for cotton prices if domestic and export utilization of cotton remains unchanged. According to President Ashok D. Daga's reports, cotton sowing in northern and central Indian states is complete, and has increased by 7% in Punjab and 25% in Rajasthan, and by 5-8% in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and MP. Due to increased production, improved yield, and appreciable quality awareness in the industry, the price realization is estimated to be far better this year. He also commented that the expanding textile production in the country has led to a substantial inflation in cotton demand. Cotton consumption in the country has gone up from 168 lakh bales in 2002-2003 to 240 lakh bales in 2006-2007, and the current stock-to-use ratio is only 44 lakh bales. All of this adds up to an impressive tally indeed for Indian cotton.
• TEXTILE EXPORTS ESTIMATED TO HIT $25 BILLION BY 2010
  Bangalore: According to Vishwanath S, Editor of the "Global Home Furnishing" newspaper, the currently nine billion dollar worth textile export sector can reach as high as 25 billion dollars with the proper initiative and government policy framework. Updates in manufacturing techniques, aggressive global marketing, import of resources, upgrading processing to international standards; such are the areas that the industry needs to focus on to make India a global player in textile exports. The country fares well in spinning and weaving, but processing, in-house designing and sampling are the fields which must be improved upon. Besides technical factors, the increase in expenses in terms of infrastructure cost, interest rate, salaries and wages, publicity and promotion poses a serious difficulty in the establishment of brands.
• CENTRE: NATIONAL TEXTILE CORPORATION TO BE REVIVED
  New Delhi: The Government has approved the revival of 26 central public sector enterprises out of the 43 central public sector enterprises recommended by the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE). Some of the units whose revival has been approved by the government include National Textile Corporation and its subsidiaries, HMT Bearings Ltd, Cement Corporation of India, Fertilizer and Chemicals Travancore Ltd, Eastern Coal Fields, Hindustan Copper Ltd and Andrew Yule and Co Ltd. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Santosh Mohan Dev estimated that the revival of these 26 enterprises would entail an assistance of Rs. 8,263.68 crore from the tax payer. Of this, the cash component would be to the tune of Rs. 1,941.3 crore and non-cash assistance Rs. 6,322.38 crore.
• FASHION WEEK FINALE TO TAKE PLACE WITHOUT BOLLYWOOD STARS
  New Delhi: The 10th edition of the Willis Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) organized by the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) and taking place from September 5th to 9th has its grand finale designer as the illustrious Rohit Bal. Rohit Bal quotes that "There will be no film stars, the stars of the show will be my clothes." "The grand finale will be genuinely grand but I don't want Bollywood celebrities to take away the spotlight. The point of focus has to be my collection," he explained. The vice-president (marketing) for ITC's Lifestyle retailing, Atul Chand announced his name. "The main aim of this collaboration is to make the designer wear accessible and relevant to our customers", he said. "Bal is one of the most celebrated fashion designers in India and we being a premium brand believe in providing our customers the finest in fashion", he added. He will also create an exclusive collection for Wills Lifestyle that will be retailed from its stores across the country. Rohit Bal has named his collection 'Intertwined' and 'Syahi' (ink). The ancient tiles of Iznik in Turkey have been the source of inspiration for the line.
• INDIA LOANS $4 MILLION TO SUDAN'S TEXTILE SECTOR
  India takes another step to promote exports and long term economic ties with Sudan by extending $4 million for the development of its textile industry. Four domestic textile factories: the Duaim, Kosti, and Shendi Textile Factory, and the Al-Haj Abdalla Textile Spinning Factory are expected to benefit from this loan, confirmed an official from the Textile and Spinning Sector. This loan is the fourth line of credit from the agreement signed by the public Indian Exim Bank in February 2007 offering $48 million to Sudan for funding various projects.
• AVAILABILITY OF TEXTILE MACHINERY TO BE INCREASED IN INDIA
  A working group in the textiles ministry has come up with a three-point strategy aimed towards maximizing availability of textile machinery to the sector. This strategy includes the transfer of the textile machinery industry from the Ministry of Heavy Industries to the textile ministry, aggressive wooing of foreign direct investment in the sector and allowing import of second hand machinery. In addition, the group also suggested encouraging global manufacturers of textile machinery to set up facilities in India, and a new financial scheme to support modernization in the domestic textile machinery sector. The new scheme would provide 5 per cent interest reimbursement and 10 per cent capital subsidy. DK Nair, secretary general, Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry, said: "If the transfer happens, it would be a welcome development as the Ministry of Heavy Industries has been unable to take care of our interests."
• GOVERNMENT TO OFFER SUPPORT TO TEXTILE EXPORTERS
  COIMBATORE: After a good long period of acceleration, exports fell by 17% in value terms in the first three months of 2007-08 as against the same period last year, and were 36% lower than the expected $7.5 billion target. A senior official in the Union Ministry of Textiles said the decline in exports was felt more in made-ups and clothing and the Government is initiating some measures to improve exports. According to S. V. Arumugam, the appreciation of rupee against the dollar has given some trouble to the exporters. They have to honor the accepted orders, and thus the price realization is lower than it should have been. They are unable to get a higher price for new orders, he added. D. K. Nair, general secretary of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry said that "There is a need for an additional relief package". "We have to get the State duties reimbursed," he says. "An action plan is needed from the industry and the Government," he says. Though yarn and fabric exports have not declined to the extent of garments, there is a general downtrend across the entire textile value chain. A high-level official in the Ministry said that "we are working on how to offer greater support to the exporters".
• INDIA INTERNATIONAL GARMENT FAIR GENERATES BUSINESS WORTH $155 MILLION
  The recently concluded, three-day long 39th India International Garment Fair turned out $155 million worth of business, a sharp increase of 27% from the exhibition organized at the year's start. The fair was jointly organized by the Apparel Export Promotion Council in association with four garment associations namely Apparel Exporters & Manufacturers Association -New Delhi, Apparel Handloom & Exporters Association -Chennai, The Clothing Manufacturing Association of India -Mumbai and Garment Exporters' Association-New Delhi. The IIGF is one of the largest platforms for small and medium exporters and buyers, with 392 small & medium exporters from India and 830 Indian as well as international buyers and buying agents participating this time. The Fair also showcased the increased capability of the Indian textile industry. A wide variety of apparel products and accessories, Cotton, MMF/Blended garments were on display. The fair saw a major shift from two piece outfits to the dress concept. The other fashion trends noticed during the fair is downsizing in exquisite use of beadwork and sequins and the emphasis shifting to lace and simple looks. Excessive use of satin and lycra, black and white prints was seen in heavier fabrics like jacquards. While cotton voiles were trusted fabric, new fabric developments in viscose georgette are taking place. In MMF, the shift is to heavier count polyester georgette. The garment presentation is in favor of long dress and mama size. There was a gradual shift from low budget to medium, high budget garments.
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