10/9/2016

CurrentScenariooftheIndianWeavingIndustryTextileLearner

CurrentScenariooftheIndianWeavingIndustry

R.S.Balakumar
M.A.(SOCIOLOGY),M.L.M.(LabourManagement),PursuingMBA(EXECUTIVE)in(FASHIONTECH),MISTE.,
Chennai,India
Cell:+919283182955
Email:rsbalakumar1953@gmail.com

IndianWeaving Industry has traditionally been one of the most surviving sectors of mass employment. As a matter of
fact,afteragriculture,theWeavingIndustryislargestproviderofworkforce.Thereisahugequantityofavailabilityofthe
raw materials the continuous supply of economically affordable labour force is the contributing factors behind the
successofthepresentweavingindustryofIndia.
However, the liberalization of the international trade along with change in the reforms of indigenous economy, have
affectednegativelytoIndianWeavingIndustry.
Handloom weavers who make mostly traditional fabric such as saris, dhotis, bed sheets and shawls have been hit the
tediousandrendertotheweavingproduction.Outofthe38millionpeopleemployedintheweavingindustry12.4million,
orcloseto33%,areconcentratedinthisdecliningpartofthesector.Themajorityofthemaretraditionalcasteandvery
poor as well as economically weaker section, working along with their family members joined together in joint family
units.Mostofthewomenofallagegroupsarededicatedlydoingthisweavingastheirprofessionfortheirlivelywood.

IndianWeavingIndustry
The Banaras silk saris made in Varanasi are very much famous for centuries for their luxurious and traditional look.
These are still a must have for all Indian weddings. More than 600,000 weavers live in Varanasi and nearby districts,
weavingmainlyfortheindigenousmarket.During1990's,thesilkhandloomweaverswhomaketheBanarassarishave
seen their fortunes vanish. Trade liberalization is been the driving force of economic globalization, pursued relentlessly
byrichnationsandinternationalfinancialinstitutionsattheexpenseofthepooroftheworld.
Brocadeweaving,especiallywithgoldandsilver,hasbeenanageoldtraditioninIndia.Therearetwobroadclassesof
brocades. Brocades of pure silk or silk and cotton blends and zari brocades with gold and silver threads. The most
importantmaterialinbrocadeweavingissilk.Itfacilitateslovelyweaves,isdurable,strong,fineandsmooth.Thereare
several varieties of raw silk of which the chief ones used for brocades are Tanduri, Banaka and Mukta. Tanduri is
imported from Malda and other places in Bengal. Banaka is thinner and finer variety and is mostly used to weave soft
fabricssuchasturbansandhandkerchiefs.Muktaisacoarseanddurablesilkusedforkimkhabs,afinesilkwouldnot
withstandheavygoldpatterns.
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CurrentScenariooftheIndianWeavingIndustryTextileLearner

Sizeoftheweavingindustry
Over 38,00,000 Indian Weaving industries have been built throughout the Indian country and more than 15, 00,000
domesticweavingindustrieshavebeensetupinthestatesofNorthandEasternpartsofIndia.Inthesouthernstatesa
hugeshareofweavingindustries,likeinAndhraPradeshhousessome3,20,000weavingindustries

TopleadingweavingcompaniesinIndia
1.JaiIndiaWeavingMillsPrivateLimited:Dealingwithmanufacturingandexportingofweavingproducts.
2.VardhamanSpinning:Manufacturerandexporterofweavingproducts.
3.ArvindMills:Manufacturesandtradesweavingproducts.
4.AdvanceSyntexPvt.Ltd.:Manufacturerofweavingproducts.

Employmentopportunities
It has been found out that the weaving industry of India provides employment to approximately 12.5 million people,
thereby,makingweavingindustrythelargestproviderofruralworkforce.Itisprecededbytheagriculturesector.

Recentdevelopments
ItisestimatedthattheIndianWeavingIndustrywouldgrowby25%toover35milliontonsbytheyear2010
TheIndianweavingindustrywillmaintainitsgrowththroughout2010.
Apparel being the mostly used woven products is expected to expand its market in the international arena as
well.
Accordingtothesilkweavingindustryacombinationoftheabolitionofquantitativerestrictions,decliningtariffson
textileimports,andevents.
Cheapimportsofsilk,especiallyfromChina,whichisposingtoughcompetitiontotheIndiansilkweavingindustry
atpresent.

Indianscenarioinpresenttime
Though weaving is one of the important sector for Indian textile industry, it has not been given due importance like
spinning sector. Moreover structure of the industry plays a vital role in making it competitive. Nature of this sector is
mainly unorganized. The weaving sector consists of fragmented, small and often, unregistered units that invest low
amountintechnologyandpracticesespeciallyinthepowerloom,processing,handloomandknits.
India has worlds largest installed base for looms. There are approximately 5mn looms in the country. India has 1.8mn
shuttleloomswhichis45percentofworldcapacity,and3.90mnhandloomswhichis85percentofworldcapacity.
The manufacturing of the weaving products makes a remarkable contribution to the national GDP and even in the
exportsrevenue.Asperstudies,ithasbeenfoundoutthattheweavingindustryprovidesemploymenttoapproximately
12.5millionpeople,thereby,makingthisindustrythelargestproviderofruralworkforce.Itisprecededbytheagriculture
sector.
Over 38,00,000 weaving industries have been built throughout the country, and more than 15,00,000 domestic weaving
industrieshavebeensetupintheNorthandEasternpartsofthecountry.
The southern States also have their wide share of weaving industries, for example, Andhra Pradesh houses some
3,20,000weavingindustries.
MostoftheseindustriesaresituatedinChirala,Pedana,Polavaram,Mangalagiri,Pochamapali,Ponduru,Dharamvaram,
Narayanpet,Puttapaka,Madhavaram,EmmiganurandGadwal.
Alongwiththesecenters,thecoastalareasofAndhraPradeshalsohavenumerouscentersforweaving.
Estimates over the years have found out that the weaving industry are supporting some 32 other sectors that include
marketing,financial,transportation,hotelsandevenmaintenanceservices.
The power loom sector produces more than 60 per cent of cloth and the Indian Textile Ministrys estimation says that
morethan60percentofthecountrysclothexportsoriginatedfromthatsector.Withitsemploymentof4.86mnworkers,
thepowerloomsectorcomprisedapproximately60percentoftotaltextileindustryemployment.
As per the Textile Ministry of India up till March 31, 2006, the sector which produces various cloth products, including
greige (unbleached)and processed fabrics consisted of 430,000 units with 1.94mn power looms. The Ministry projected
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CurrentScenariooftheIndianWeavingIndustryTextileLearner

thenumberofpowerloomstoriseto1.95mnin200607.ButmodernizationinloomsislessandIndianindustrystilllags
significantlybehindtheUS,China,Europe,Taiwan,etc.)
Mostoftheloomswehavecurrentlyinthecountryareshuttleless.Therearelessthan15,000modernlooms,whereas
traditional looms are in large numbers. Value addition and the manufacturing of fabrics according to customers
compliances,isnotpossibleduetoobsoletetechnologyoflooms.
Shuttlelessweavingloomsareuptothreetimesmoreefficientthanshuttlelooms,butthepenetrationofmodernshuttle
lessloomisveryless.In2001,thereweresome27,000shuttlelesscottonloomsinIndonesia,21,000inThailandand
10,000inIndia.Inworldshareofshuttlelesslooms,Indiaranked9th.

Futurescenario
It is estimated that the weaving industry in India will grow by 28 per cent to over 37 million tons in due course. The
industrywillmaintainitsgrowththroughout2015.Apparelbeingthemostlyusedwovenproductsisexpectedtoexpand
itsmarketintheinternationalarenaaswell.

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