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The textile industry is the largest industry of modern India.
It accounts for over 20 percent of industrial production and
is closely linked with the agricultural and rural economy. It
is the single largest employer in the industrial sector employing
about 38 million people. If employment in allied sectors likes
ginning, agriculture, pressing, cotton trade, jute, etc. are
added then the total employment is estimated at 93 million.
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The
net foreign exchange earnings in this sector are one of the
highest and, together with carpet and handicrafts, account for
over 37 percent of total export earnings at over US $ 10 billion.
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Textiles,
alone, account for about 25 percent of India's total for earnings.
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India's
textile industry since its beginning continues to be predominantly
cotton based with about 65 percent of fabric consumption in
the country being accounted for by cotton.
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The
industry is highly localized in Ahmedabad and Bombay in the
western part of the country though other centers exist including
Kanpur, Kolkota, Indore, Coimbatore, and Sholapur.
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The
structure of the textile industry is extremely complex with
the modern, sophisticated and highly mechanized mill sector
on the one hand and the hand spinning and hand weaving (handloom)
sector on the other.
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Between
the two falls the small-scale power loom sector. The latter
two are together known as the decentralized sector.
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Over
the years, the government has granted a whole range of concessions
to the non-mill sector as a result of which the share of the
decentralized sector has increased considerably in the total
production. Of the two sub-sectors of the decentralized sector,
the power loom sector has shown the faster rate of growth. In
the production of fabrics the decentralized sector accounts
for roughly 94 percent while the mill sector has a share of
only 6 percent.
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Being
an agro-based industry the production of raw material varies
from year to year depending on weather and rainfall conditions.
Accordingly the price fluctuates too.
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India's
trade in textiles and its share in world trade can be categorized
as follows: Yarn, cloth, fabrics, and other products.
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Knitted
garments are extremely popular in the modern fashion scene.
In both women's and men's fashions there has been a revolution
in knitted clothes. Modern design has had a major impact on
knitwear and made it an exciting area of modern fashion trends.
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The
range of styles that can be purchased or hand made is constantly
expanding.
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Children
have always worn knitted comments more commonly than adults.
Past styles had children dressed from head to toe in knitted
garments. Knitted wear has been especially common for infants.
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In
the days before rubber pants, expectant mothers would knit up
a batch of aptly-named soakers to go over baby's diapers. But
every conceivable baby garment was made in knits.
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But
today times have changed, an equally huge number of adults wear
Knitwear. And it is produced in large quantities the world over.
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The
Indian knitting industry has been one of the most innovative
global producers of knitwear products.
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Recently
the industry has seen major technological developments which
provide an essential service to the industry in enabling us
to reach our full competitive potential, taking full advantage
of new and emerging technologies.
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The
considerable investment in capital equipment made by companies
of all sizes including small and medium sized enterprises, where
investment is often far more risky, has ensured that the India
has not been left behind.
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The
investment in this 'new generation' capital equipment has seen
the industry become one of the most creative users of many of
these new types of machinery, re-enforcing our position in producing
innovative products and increasing our competitiveness within
the global market.
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This
is a significant contribution to the Indian economy by the knitwear
industry which we all want to see enhanced in the future.
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To
do this, our textile and clothing industry needs strong and
relevant skills to compete successfully in World markets. In
some areas we already have these; using new computer technology
in knitting machines, Indian companies are succeeding in both
reducing the production time of garments and increasing their
fashion and design content.
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However,
we need to make sure that we continue to innovate, preparing
for the future, so that we can exploit the opportunities arising
from the very latest technological developments.
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One
way to harness the new technologies and increase our competitiveness
is to exploit our strong human resources - our knowledge, our
skills and our creativity are the keys to this success.
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We
need to build up skills and confidence for workers and consumers
to operate in the information economy. Government and business
must both invest in IT skills. And we must keep investing, as
skills will need constant updating.
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Why
Knit Garment Industry is Successful?
There are various reasons for the growth of the knitting industry.
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The
capital investment for starting a new knitting unit is relatively
small than that required for the other fabric producing industries.
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To
start a weaving factory, when the spun yam is available, it
would require preparatory machines before the yam could be used
as warp and weft to weave into a fabric. No such problem arises
to start a knitting unit.
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The
high productivity of knitting machine is also a favorable factor
for the growth of the industry. As the preparatory processes
for knitting are less than for 'weaving, the time required to
get an order executed is less than that required in the case
of woven fabrics.
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The
setting up of knitting machines to produce a given type of fabric
is a faster and simpler operation than the setting up of a loom.
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Knitting
is more flexible than weaving. Styles and designs can be changed
with unparalleled rapidity. Knits are, therefore, geared to
quick turnover in keeping with the frequent fashion changes
in the apparel market.
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One
of the major factors in the success of knits has certainly been
the contribution made by the fibre and yarn producers in providing
the knitter with a wide range of new yams that have brought
new standards of performance and new aesthetics into the knit
market
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The
weft knit industry in general and double knit in particular
was rejuvenated due to the development of textured yams. Ladies
dresses were the first garments to be made from textured yarns.
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They
were lightweight, hard wearing, shape retaining and crease shedding.
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The
knit fabrics have become comfortable and are in tune with the
times.
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The
present generation is grown up with the permanent press and
they are going to demand wrinkle-free, ease-of-care fabrics.
The recent success of knits has been greatly due to their easy-care
properties.
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The
mobility of people, in general, has been increased due to facilities
for quick transport Travelers usually need carefree fabrics;
and knitted fabrics do comply with this requirement as they
generally require no ironing and are therefore it is cool for
traveling persons. Also for swimwear and sportswear, knitted
fabrics are the most comfortable ones.
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With
the high cost of labor, the weaving process has disadvantages
because of the high complement of labor required to weave fabrics.
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Knitting
units require very less labor and hence all problems related
with labor organization. Wages, benefits to labor etc. are very
much reduced in the knitting industry.
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With
the boom in the knitting industry, the machinery manufacturers
have also taken advantage of the situation and have developed
highly innovative machinery. With the aim of high productivity
and versatility.
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Technical
advancement by the knitting machinery manufacturers is also
one of the causes for the growth of the knitting industry.
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Compared
to the woven, Designing new knitting machines have a high adaptability
and the scope for designing is required more in the case of
knitted fabrics compared to that for woven fabrics.
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Recently
warp knitted fabrics are being used to a very great extent in
geotextiles medical textiles, safety textiles, automobile textiles
and many other functional textiles. A new vista of 'Technical
Textiles' has been opened up with innumerable end uses for the
knitted structure.
