The Hindu Business Line : Centre sets up development council for textile machinery

THE Central Government has constituted a new 25-member development council for the textile machinery industry. This council will have a term of two years.

The annual turnover of the domestic textile machinery industry is estimated to be around Rs 1,200 crore.

A senior official from the textile industry said that the level of textile machinery imports into the country had been around Rs 1,500 crore per annum.

Official sources said that the Secretary in the Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, would be the chairman of this council.

The previous development council for this industry was appointed in December 2001 for a period of two years.

Besides the eight Government representatives, the latest council has six manufacturers and two manufacturers' association representatives.

The Chairman of the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) is also a member of the council.

The six manufacturer representatives, who have been appointed as members in the council, are Dr D. Jayavarthanavelu, Chairman, Lakshmi Machinery Works, Coimbatore, Mr V.J. Jayaraman, Chairman, Veejay Lakshmi Engineering Works, Coimbatore, Mr Rajanikant S. Bachkanniwala, Technical Director, Himson Textile Engineering Industries Ltd, Surat, Mr Sridhar Varadraj, Managing Director, Premier Polytronics Ltd, Coimbatore, Mr Atul Bhagwati, Chairman, ATE Enterprises, Mumbai and Mr G.T. Dembla, Past Chairman, TMMA(I).

The Chairman of the Indian Cotton Mills Federation (ICMF) and the Chairman of the Woollen Mills Federation have also been appointed as members of the council.

As regards the manufacturers' association, the Chairman of Textile Machinery Manufacturers' Association, Mumbai, and the President of the Association of Merchants & Manufacturers of Textile Stores & Machinery, Mumbai, have been appointed members of the council.