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COIMBATORE, Aug.15

THE Union Ministry of Textiles has decided to speed up the loom modernisation process in major weaving clusters across the country.

This is part of Ministry's efforts to protect the existing domestic textile market from being swarmed by imports.

It has identified 16 power loom clusters across the country for modernisation. As part of this it has unveiled a `capacity assessment' survey in Tamil Nadu-based powerloom sector starting from this month.

The three-month long survey being undertaken by the Textiles Committee, functioning under the Ministry, will cover Tamil Nadu-based powerloom clusters. To start with, it will survey the power loom clusters in Coimbatore district comprising the Somanur-Palladam-Tirupur areas.

"Coimbatore power loom cluster has been taken for survey considering factors such as the entrepreneurship of individual weaving units, productivity, skilled labour, investment climate and raw material/fabric finishing linkages available in the vicinity such as the textile processing houses/garmenting units, the Director (market research) of Textiles Committee, Mr P. Nayak, said.

Mr Nayak was here to participate in the first ever `focussed' group discussion on powerloom cluster modernisation meeting held here on Wednesday.

He said the committee would work with the Tamil Nadu Government's Department of handlooms and textiles, regional power loom industrial associations and the South India Textile Research Association, besides the regional office of the Textile Commissioner.

The survey, being carried out through a structured questionnaire served to individual powerloom owners, would go into details such as the number of looms functioning, the types of looms owned by the units, products manufactured, labour engaged in each unit and their skill levels and the credit facilities required etc.

The survey would focus on the three predominant categories of powerloom units operating in the cluster, namely own enterprise, master-weavers and job-working power looms.

The survey also covers information relating to non-loom operations/the post weaving activities such as warping and sizing manufacture, besides certain generic issues like the power, water, financing.

The survey has been initiated, according to Mr Nayak, after the Textile Ministry's recent discussions with the Tamil Nadu Government on the issue of powerloom cluster development.

The Ministry has, as part of the powerloom modernisation programme, chalked out plans to upgrade 2.5 lakh semi-automatic looms into automatic ones and install 50,000 shuttle-less looms by 2004.

According to Mr Nagesh Mugadur, Regional Director in the office of the Textile Commissioner, it has been targeted that the State's power loom industry should be able to get 19 per cent of the projected 50,000 shuttle less looms (numbering 9,000) and about 46,000 semi-automatic looms (out of the 2.5 lakh looms in the country) should be converted into automatic looms by 2004.

"The idea is that 50 per cent of the Tamil Nadu's loom modernisation should happen in Coimbatore district," Mr Mugadur said.

According to official figures, the Coimbatore powerloom cluster comprising Somanur, Palladam and Tirupur is estimated to have 9,500 power loom units.

There are 1,300 units having up to four looms; 6,000 units have 5-12 looms and units owning 13 looms or more are 2,200. While textile manufacturers themselves own 1,700 units, 7,800 units are engaged in job-work production.

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