If we are really serious about the future of garment manufacturing and export industry,
then we should be concentrating on developing new players who are serious about
manufacturing. Just improving what we already have is not going to get us too far…,
fortunately we now have the right tools in ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skilling India’ initiatives.
To utilize the opportunities and explore new possibilities under both the schemes…, ‘out of the box’ measures need to be taken. Nothing can be achieved by cocooning ourselves and staying put in one place, always thinking inwards. We need to move out beyond our confines and comfort zone to address growth bottlenecks.
No one says that it is an easy path, but that’s what we (garment exporters) know how to do and do it well… No doubt, we will have to face many of the infrastructural and resource bottlenecks but that can always be resolved by using the right tools now available to us.
I have said in my earlier editorials that before we blindly get into a ‘mad’ rush to set up manufacturing units, it would be better to first get our house in order… I frankly feel that the first thrust should be on ‘Make India’ before we head-on into implementing ‘Make in India’. The three areas that need attention are: ‘Clean India’, ‘Healthy India’ and ‘Corruption-free India’. If these three areas are taken care of, then all other requirements for sustainable growth of manufacturing will follow automatically.
With a cleaner country other infrastructural issues and bottlenecks will fall in line. ‘Healthy India’ is about a vision of a physically and intellectually strong country where every citizen is aware of personal hygiene, health care and need to be educated. It is often said the real wealth of this country is its people…, but weak and illiterate masses can be constraining chains to growth. Again a corruption-free system will only support the tools that can make India a stable economic growth juggernaut.
The direction in which the Government is moving, strongly suggests that the era of Government funding and subsidies for business houses and industry segments is over; in fact, the Commerce Minister has clearly said so in so many words. The Government has started its campaign to facilitate better processes for ease of doing business for new entrepreneurs. I expect the budget to remove advantages the rich have enjoyed on their wealth and earnings…; now they need to look beyond the safe savings!
Bihar, Orissa, and North Eastern states are waiting to be explored for the opportunities that they have in garment manufacturing… The Government has shown the way by setting up textile and apparel parks and even opening skill centres in these regions. Now the industry has to come forward and take up the challenges… By developing these areas, the industry will create fresh beds of production.
Everyone is talking about China letting go of its garment manufacturing business, and a recent study by McKinsey says that 30 per cent of sourcing directors are looking to hike up buying from the country over the next five years, making it the third preferred sourcing destination after Bangladesh and Vietnam... But as an industry are we ready for the business? I come back to where I began… We have to create more manufacturing competencies and develop new players… that is the only way the country can live up to the expectations of the global community and also realize the latent potential in regions yet unexplored or underutilized.
To utilize the opportunities and explore new possibilities under both the schemes…, ‘out of the box’ measures need to be taken. Nothing can be achieved by cocooning ourselves and staying put in one place, always thinking inwards. We need to move out beyond our confines and comfort zone to address growth bottlenecks.
No one says that it is an easy path, but that’s what we (garment exporters) know how to do and do it well… No doubt, we will have to face many of the infrastructural and resource bottlenecks but that can always be resolved by using the right tools now available to us.
I have said in my earlier editorials that before we blindly get into a ‘mad’ rush to set up manufacturing units, it would be better to first get our house in order… I frankly feel that the first thrust should be on ‘Make India’ before we head-on into implementing ‘Make in India’. The three areas that need attention are: ‘Clean India’, ‘Healthy India’ and ‘Corruption-free India’. If these three areas are taken care of, then all other requirements for sustainable growth of manufacturing will follow automatically.
With a cleaner country other infrastructural issues and bottlenecks will fall in line. ‘Healthy India’ is about a vision of a physically and intellectually strong country where every citizen is aware of personal hygiene, health care and need to be educated. It is often said the real wealth of this country is its people…, but weak and illiterate masses can be constraining chains to growth. Again a corruption-free system will only support the tools that can make India a stable economic growth juggernaut.
The direction in which the Government is moving, strongly suggests that the era of Government funding and subsidies for business houses and industry segments is over; in fact, the Commerce Minister has clearly said so in so many words. The Government has started its campaign to facilitate better processes for ease of doing business for new entrepreneurs. I expect the budget to remove advantages the rich have enjoyed on their wealth and earnings…; now they need to look beyond the safe savings!
Bihar, Orissa, and North Eastern states are waiting to be explored for the opportunities that they have in garment manufacturing… The Government has shown the way by setting up textile and apparel parks and even opening skill centres in these regions. Now the industry has to come forward and take up the challenges… By developing these areas, the industry will create fresh beds of production.
Everyone is talking about China letting go of its garment manufacturing business, and a recent study by McKinsey says that 30 per cent of sourcing directors are looking to hike up buying from the country over the next five years, making it the third preferred sourcing destination after Bangladesh and Vietnam... But as an industry are we ready for the business? I come back to where I began… We have to create more manufacturing competencies and develop new players… that is the only way the country can live up to the expectations of the global community and also realize the latent potential in regions yet unexplored or underutilized.
