The Hindu : Business : `Governments ignore private players in handloom sector'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 14, 2005

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Business

`Governments ignore private players in handloom sector'

Staff Reporter

Proposal to set up an integrated textile park in Kannur; coordination by SBI

KANNUR: The cluster-focussed approach would offer the textile industry in the district an additional edge in production and export as it was an answer to the low levels of modernisation that the weaving sector was suffering from, according to experts in the industry.

Inaugurating the seminar on `Development of Kannur Textile Cluster' organised by the State Bank of India (SBI) here on Friday as part of the `Project Uptech' for upgrading textile technology and infrastructure here, Kerala Handloom Exports Organisation president C. Jayachandran said that the Governments had so far neglected the private players in the handloom sector.

He said the decision makers had to focus on areas that could create results.

There was concern that the promotional funds in the handloom sector were not often being spent in the right areas, he said. If all the projects envisaged as part of the Textile Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme at Nadukani here could be implemented, export target of Rs.1,000 crores could be achieved in a few years, he added.

Delivering the presidential address, SBI general manager Radha Unni said that the bank had already appointed a special officer to co-ordinate the Project Uptech in Kannur.

The bank, she said, would be receptive to the suggestions from the textile players in the district.

Delivering the keynote address at the seminar, Kinfra Apparel Parks Ltd. managing director N. Sasidharan Nair said that the proposal for an integrated textile park in Kannur had already been submitted.

He also underlined the importance of Kannur or nearby areas having a few spinning mills to produce quality yarn required for furnishing fabric products of Kannur.

The handloom weaving units here should concentrate on value-added products, while powerloom units would cater to demands for larger production, he said.

Mr. Nair said that with the existing infrastructure, the textile industry here could not achieve the export target of Rs.1,000 crores unless the production would be increased ten times.

The textile sector here also had potential for knitted garments manufacturing cluster, he said.

The Textile Centre being developed at Nadukani would have built-up space for 10 garment factories, he added.

Project Uptech co-ordinator V.P. Raghoothaman said that initially 10 weaving units here had been identified for the project.

The abundant opportunity in the textile sector in the post-quota regime could be encashed if the sector went for technology upgradation, he said.

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