The Hindu Business Line : Textile sector: Public-pvt partnership model for vocational training mooted

New Delhi May 14 Garmenting would be the single most important segment for augmenting production and export of textiles and clothing and accordingly plans are afoot to put in place the public-private sector partnership (PPP) model for vocational education on a higher gear in this sector.

Official sources told Business Line here that the Eleventh Plan foresees a growth of 16 per cent in the textiles sector which would entail an outlay of Rs 1,50,600 crore and would foster incremental direct employment for a 6.5 million workforce in spinning, weaving, knitting, processing and clothing. The incremental manpower requirement in spinning is 4.10 lakh, in weaving 2.70 lakh, knitting 0.20 lakh, processing 1.50 lakh and clothing 56.50 lakh, taking the total to 65 lakh.

The sources said the government-appointed Committee last year suggested the PPP model for vocational education, including the industrial training institutes (ITIs) in its ambit over and above extant institutions currently being run by the Ministry of Textiles and related organisation.

`Mapping'

The committee suggested that institutions should be set up in "catchment" areas from where workers for the textile sector were drawn. It favoured the "mapping" of ITIs to identify those located near existing clusters of the textile industry and said that they might be upgraded to meet the training needs of these clusters.

It is projected that 18.97 billion pieces would be churned out annually by 2011-12 in the clothing sector with a value of Rs 2,99,300 crore. Of these six billion pieces at $34.02 billion (about Rs 1,53,100 crore) would be exported and 12.98 billion pieces worth Rs 1,46,200 crore would be for the domestic consumption.

The sources said the 13 Apparel Training and Design Centres (ATDC) are now being run by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). ATDCs have trained over 21,000 workers since inception. AEPC, the sources said, plans to set up 25 new centres in 13 States and 13 mobile centres during the Eleventh Plan. These would enable ATDCs to train 57,625 trainees besides training 30,000 students currently under various ATDCs. Fifteen thousand students would be trained through mobile sources, the sources said.

The officials reckon that the machinery requirement to produce 18.97 billion pieces would be 24 lakh machines. Currently, the industry has about 9.50 lakh stitching machines. Thus the incremental requirement would be 14.50 lakh machines. The investment requirement during the

Eleventh Plan would be Rs 21,800 crore and would create incremental employment for 56.40 lakh workforce, of which 28.25 lakh would be semi-skilled and 11.30 lakh unskilled.

The sources said the Textile Ministry is alive to the fact that innovation is the key to survival in the globalised world. Continuous innovation in technology, machinery, products and processes would be indispensable to the industry to exploit the available opportunities in the global market. Hence the R&D (research and development) approach would be altered from passive to pro-active, the sources said adding that the focus in the Eleventh Plan would be on adequately bolstering the textile research institutions across the country by upgrading their facilities and laboratories.

Resource bank

It is also proposed to set up a Resource Bank for technological database, technology forecasting and management practices, they said, adding that the industry would be goaded into setting up testing and designing facilities in the PPP mode with the objective of deepening the testing and design pattern.

Alongside, the Government would assist small and medium entrepreneurs in obtaining globally accredited certification and establishment systems, viz., ISO 1400, OEKOTEX 100, SA 8000, URAR, ILO certification to enable them to meet environmental and social standards effectively, which have become a norm in overseas markets.

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