The Hindu Business Line : To help manufacturers diversify, look for newer markets — AEPC gears to new role in post-quota regime

The AEPC Secretary-General, Mr K.K. Jalan, said the council is embarking on a Rs 65-crore apparel international mart (AIM) at Gurgaon, to house 250 permanent showrooms to work as one-stop window for sourcing apparels from India.

New Delhi , Nov. 17

THE Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), accustomed to managing the quota regime in the past that governed the global trade in textiles and clothing, is now gearing itself to assist the Indian garment manufacturers to expand beyond a few countries and also categories through orchestrated efforts at product diversification and market penetration.

Disclosing this to Business Line here, the AEPC Secretary General, Mr K.K. Jalan, said the council is embarking on a Rs 65-crore Apparel International Mart (AIM) at Gurgaon, spread over five acres to house 250 centrally air-conditioned permanent showrooms to work as one-stop window for sourcing apparels from India.

He said that while the exhibition complex would be used for marketing different products created by the apparel industry, it would also hold exhibitions to make available raw materials and accessories required for apparel manufacturing.

Alongside, he said, the council is also constructing another building to accommodate the Apparel Research and Development Centre (ARDC), adjacent to the AIM complex.

Initially, this centre will have departments to facilitate working in areas for enhancing productivity and product diversification, assisting units in meeting compliance standards, working out new package techniques, apprising the apparel exporters of various markets.

Mr Jalan said that even as the ARDC would zero in on the woven segment, efforts were also on to establish another ARDC at Tirupur for research in knitted garments.

Focus on HRD: With post-quota regime putting a premium on excellence in products for the export markets, Mr Jalan said the council is bolstering human resource development of the garment industry as it has promoted a separate society Apparel Training and Design Centre.

The council is running a dozen such centres at important apparel manufacturing hubs such as Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Tirupur, Thiruvananthapuram and Ludhiana.

The council has plans to open new centres at Indore and Surat in the near future and these 14 centres together would generate skilled manpower of around 500 persons every year to the industry, he said.

The responsibility of these centres is to impart professional training to personnel in garment manufacturing technology, including pattern making/cutting techniques, production supervision and quality control techniques to ensure that quality garments are manufactured for the global market.

Duty restructuring: Stating that the Board of Trade set up by the Commerce Ministry has constituted a special study group on textiles with the AEPC Chairman, Mr A. Sakthivel, as Convenor, Mr Jalan said the study group undertook the task of debating issues with various stakeholders in the industry.

Its report, forwarded to the Government recently, urged the authorities for fiscal duty restructuring, extension of technology upgradation fund scheme (TUFS) till March 31, 2010, better assistance to apparel industry under TUFS, better drawback rates/duty entitlement pass book rates for industry, ensuring flexibility in labour laws and assistance for human resource development.

The study group has unequivocally told the Government that it would be difficult to get substantial foreign direct investment unless labour laws are changed and an level playing field is made available to all units, irrespective of their size.

The council has hinted to the Government that if it is allowed flexibility to give employment for 200 days in a year even as the National Employment Guarantee Act only guarantees employment for 100 days, the industry could double employment potential in this export-oriented segment.

Even as the AEPC is set to shift its office to the eight-storey complex in Gurgaon soon, it is also toying with the idea of providing a brand new image of being a one-stop shop for resolving all pending issues of apparel manufacturer-exporters or merchant exporters with the authorities in order to take the country's apparel exports to new highs, Mr Jalan said.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page