Start up in Textiles 

By B. Basu 

Introduction: The Textile Industry today: The textile industry is the most glorified and oldest industry in the world. After food, the cloth is necessary to cover the body and protect it from nature’s cold, rain, dust, summer, etc. It is the identification of one’s profession, such as police, school uniform, defense, medical profession, and so many more. It protects humans from any bacteria, disease, or pollution and covers the wound. It is required to present oneself as being smarter; to increase one’s personalities, special clothes are required for any social occasion (like marriage). Today, the world of textiles is spread with technical textiles, medical textiles, smart textiles, and so on. Even in the areas of housing, it is being introduced in different forms such as tents, canopies, rooftops, temporary shelters, etc. It is largely used in the industries as packing and protecting materials, conveyor belts, ropes, baggage, etc. This industry is experiencing significant growth.

This industry was started with the Indus Valley civilization even 12000-10000 years before. It was found that even during Harrapan Civilization there were spinning and weaving systems. The references of spinning and weaving were found in Vedic literature (1500 BCE) also. Silk is older than cotton, and the dresses worn in the Ramayana seize. Silk is still the second largest producer inIndia after China.

Today, India is the largest producer of cotton and jute. At present, the textile industry is the second largest employer after agriculture, which employs 35 million people directly and 60 million indirectly. There are about 3542 cotton spinning mills (48 million spindles) and about 2500 composite mills in India in the year 2010.

As of April 2022, there are approximately 385,596 power looms in India, which employ about 7 million people directly and similar numbers of indirect people. 5. 60% of cloth is being produced in this sector. It exports silk, cotton, jute, manmade fibers, readymade garments, dyed fabrics, etc.

We have around 23.77 lakhs of handlooms, known to be the largest cottage industry producing super specialty cloths at different states of India. It employs about 3,522,512 handloom workers, where 72.29% are female employees. It earns export revenue of about 13.6% from various products like carpets, rugs, mats, silk sarees, etc. pic. 2 has shown the sarees produced in a state-wise manner.

The textile industry is fastly changing due to automation and other technologies and is expected to grow very high in the coming years; it is expected to double its contribution to the country’s GDP by the end of the decade. 7 Today, the domestic apparel & textile industry in India contributes approx. 2.3% to the country’s GDP, 13% to industrial production, and 12% to exports. (https://www.investindia.gov.in>sector>textiles-apparel).

In the past, the Mughal Empire was the pioneer in cotton and silk manufacturing (16th to 18th century), especially muslins. Bengal had a 25% share in the global textile business. Pic- 1 is showing ikat patola weaving. It is a very special type of fabric made from silk in a handloom available in the Patan, Gujarat area. The examples are so many.

Pic – 1. Textile artists demonstrate double ikat Patola weaving at the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival

  Pic – 2, The sarees made at different states in Handloom Sectors. 

[2] Education Sectors: As of now, there are in total 41 Textile Degree colleges in India with equal number of Diploma colleges. There are 19 NIFT owned by Ministry of Textiles and total 686 Fashion Designing Colleges with 537 Private and that of 133 Managed by Govt.9 As per the Survey report, 98% of the fashionists get job with their own entrepreneurship capacity. 

  As on Jan `23, the intake of the Textile colleges has come down and hence the Colleges are forced to reduce the Budgets. Two such colleges in Maharashtra already closed their Textile Branches. Similar Conditions are in Diploma Colleges too. As per the Market survey till now 25- 30% seats are lying vacant in the Diploma Textile Colleges. Even NIT, IITs are also not so attracted to the present students especially in the core sections. (Toi. 7.12.22) 

The   Employers expectations from the Textile Engineers in creativity, technical knowledges, persuasive abilities, patience levels and to have the capacity to work for long hours, analytical sense, excellent communication, resilience, to know the latest procedures and found missing and hence they (the employers) are reluctant to pay attractive salaries at per with the CSE students passed from IITs. However, some organisations are absorbing freshers with handsome salaries because   of their high profit margin and expansion growth. But they remove the poor performers soon they find them as burden. 

[3] The Career Scopes in Textile Engineering: (shiksha internal auditors sept 20, 2019). The Textile industry being the largest and that of the oldest one has got vast scopes to the Textile professionals in the rural and urban areas. Being the second largest employer with vast scopes and areas, the Textile related people never face any unemployment. It is getting modernised day by day with the invention of new & newer yarns in Natural and that of in the Synthetic sectors, and accordingly fabrics are getting manufactured with that. Innovation are the ways in the Textile Sectors. In the present day, the industries absorb the Degree /Diploma students not only in the Production and Shop floor areas but also absorb them in R&D (MTech and PhD are preferred), maintenance, QC, QA, Process Control, PPC, Marketing and sales and in the corporate sectors at higher scale. There are huge scopes in Handlooms, Power looms, small scale, Khadi, Technical Textiles, Medical Textiles, Braiding Industries, Smart Textiles and non-woven sectors. Today, vast scopes have raised in Textile machinery manufacturing sectors mainly in Technical Sales and Marketings. 

 The new door has opened in the Garment sectors in the manufacturing, sales, product developments, Retails and show rooms, Management areas where mainly NIFT / NID are getting opportunities. 

Entrepreneurship has gained another great option for the Textile aspirants including self-trading’s, business, self-manufacturing in the areas of yarn business, fabric and spare part sales, Garment sales and developments. 

Now the western countries have opened their doors in all trade and business and our Textile professionals are doing well in conjunctions with them. 

 The higher studied people are also getting proper placements as per their qualities and experiences in the educational sectors, Industrial R&D areas, consultancy and in many other noble areas. 

  Despite of all huge scopes in the Textile fields, some freshers remain unemployed because of their choosiness regarding Brand name of the organisations, locations and pay-packets which are not acceptable to them.  

[4]   How to build Future as “Start-up”:  The following tips are offered to the “startup” students as an experienced professional. 

• In the profession life, think about the responsibilities and work assignments than that of salary rise every now and then. 
• Keep positive attitude of learning than to think yourself as “Mr.know all”.  Take advise form the floor level people who have burnt their fingers in those subjects. 
• Avoid thinking about others pay rise and jealous feeling which may damage your mental health and distance yourself in constructive thinking.  Think about his/her way of achievements and try to follow it in constructive way. 
• Work smart than that of work hard. You must be a result-oriented person, doesn’t matter if you need to work for long hours and even in weekly off days. 
• Keep record of each &everything of your work done before your boss asks you. 
• Be always punctual in your duties and restrain from remaining absent very often. 
• Maintain relationship with all even you may not like someone. 
• Always remember “Management is always right” and it`s decision is final. 
•  Must have the analytical sense of everything. For any failure, think “Why? How?”   Read books, note, journals to know about the causes of failures and how to solve it. 
• Before “start-up”, prepare well in college days by attending In Plant training vigorously, to visit Industries, take lessons from the subject teachers and that of Industrial Experts. Complete the Project works in the final Semester sincerely and with deep thoughts. (no short cut) 
• Before entering the industries, learn communications, writing, good speaking power and learn manners and Politeness. Be truthful and faithful. 

[5] Conclusions: 

• Textile Industry is a vast ocean with tremendous potential Job opportunities. 
• It is being the Oldest Industry, opportunities are vivid i.e. Right from the Handloom to the latest technology with the scopes in Production, Maintenance, R&D, QC, PPC, PC, Sales & Marketing, Developments, Trades, Enterpreneurships, Teachings and Consultancy.
• The Garment Sectors have come up with huge potentialities in the Job opportunities and business, Entrepreneurship and Retailing.
• Before “start-up” and after the “Start”, the students must be highly sincere. 

     [6] References: 

1. 1. Wikipedia.
   2. Wikipedia 
   3. The Yarn Bazar, Spinning Mills in India.
   4. Wikipedia.
   5. Indian Trade Journal. Ministry of Commerce & Industries.
   6. Handloom sectors in India.
   7.  Textile Industries today, google 
   8. Wikipedia, Textile Industry in India.
   9. Net search
   10. (sustainability in the Textile Colleges-Frustrations in the education sectors, by B.Basu IJIRA -April – June -23, Lincoin University, Malasia, May 23)