– It’s India’s moment in textiles trade: Chairman AEPC
New Delhi 27th February 2024: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Bharat Tex 2024, one of the largest-ever global textile events to be organized in the country at Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhumi in New Delhi on 26th February 2024.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister welcomed everyone to the Bharat Tex 2024 and said that the occasion was special because the event is taking place in two of the largest exhibition centers in India namely, Bharat Mandapam and Yasho Bhoomi.
The Prime Minister elaborated on the role of the textiles sector in India’ s journey to Viksit Bharat. “We are focussing on tradition, technology, talent and training”, he said. He pointed out that the emphasis should be on aligning traditional designs to the demands of the contemporary world.
He reiterated the concept of Five Fs – Farm to Fiber, Fiber to Factory, Factory to Fashion, Fashion to Foreign which is binding all elements of the value chain. In order to help the MSME sector, the Prime Minister mentioned, the change in the definition of MSME was brought to ensure continued benefits even after growth in size. He also talked about direct sales, exhibitions and online portals that have reduced the distance between the artisans and the market.
The Prime Minister threw light on the government’s plans and purpose behind creating PM MITRA Parks in various states. “Government strives to establish the entire value chain ecosystem in a single place where modern infrastructure with plug and play facilities are made available”, the Prime Minister remarked. He said that it will not only improve scale and operation but also bring down logistics costs.
The Prime Minister appealed to the industry to look beyond the confines of the domestic market and go global by exploring opportunities in the overseas markets. Commenting on the impact of positive, stable and far-sighted government policies, PM Modi said that the valuation of the Indian textiles market has crossed 12 lakh crore rupees from less than 7 lakh crore rupees in 2014. There is a 25 percent increase in yarn, fabric and apparel production. 380 new BIS standards are ensuring quality control in the sector. This has led to doubling of FDI in the sector in the last 10 years, he informed.
Concluding the address, the Prime Minister urged the industries to come forward with a new vision that caters to the world’s needs.
Applauding the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision for the textiles industry, Shri Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman AEPC said, “We are grateful to Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his tireless efforts toward making India a developed nation. His mantra of boosting textiles exports through 5F vision will energise the textiles exports sector and lead to further employment generation.”
Commenting on Bharat Tex Shri Sekhri said, “Bharat Tex Expo 2024 will set the tone for the realization of true potential in textiles trade. It will ensure India its due place in terms of branding and positioning which has been due since long. For such a long time we did not have an international show of such a global standard and scale. It’s India’s moment in textiles trade.”
We are working on sustainability and ethical production practices by ensuring ESG compliance which will give us an edge in the international market, Shri Sekhri added.
Shri Mithileshwar Thakur, Secretary General AEPC stated that, “Many global organizations & international trade bodies including IDH, WGSN, Better Cotton Initiative, BSI Responsible Sourcing Network, ITMF, International Apparel Federation, ITME, BGMEA, Cotton Egypt Association are partnering with Bharat Tex 2024 to facilitate discussion and deliberations on issues like global trends in Textiles and Apparel, sustainability, circularity, traceability, industry 4.0, innovation, green financing among others. Several international speakers are participating in the knowledge sessions on topics on contemporary relevance & interest, which will help us understand international perspective on the challenges and opportunities in the textiles sector”
The event has received overwhelming participation from various renowned international companies including Fortum, Lenzing, H&M, Target, Anko, CIEL Group, Busana Group, Hyosung Corporation, Brandix Apparels, Teijin Ltd, Perennials and Sutherland LLC, MAS Holdings, Coats Group, Poeticgem Ltd, Italiya Inc Japan, Warp-N-Weft Designs, Janki Overseas, and Cotton Council International, among others, Shri Thakur added.
Further Shri Thakur stated that, “The event will feature 50+ knowledge sessions with confirmed participation from CXO level speakers, including representatives from Bestseller, GAP, KAS Group, H&M, Louis Vuitton, Tommy Hilfiger, Kohls, Teijin, Toray, Coats, Nike, PVH, Perennials, YKK, Lenzing, Hugo Boss, Levis Strauss, Super Dry, Target and many others. Participation of foreign buyers from 100+ countries, ministerial and business delegations from key textiles countries and enthusiastic participation of major textile states of the country have given the event an altogether different dimension and taken the global expo to the next level.
Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal and Union Minister of State for Textiles, Smt. Darshana Jardosh were present on the occasion among others.
