| | MARCH 20218VANTAGE POINT T he Covid-19 pandemic had a lasting impact on the textile industry, while from a global perspective, it accounted for $594.61billion in 2020, in 2021 it is expected to increase at a CAGR of 10.1 percent, i.e., accounting for $654.57 billion. The growth is mainly because of textile companies rearranging operations and recovering from the Covid-19 impact, which earlier led to restrictive containment measures which included social distancing, remote working, and closure of commercial activities which resulted in operational challenges. The global textile market is expected to reach $821.87 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 6 percent.In 2020, Asia Pacific accounted for 51 percent of the global textile market, while Western Europe turned out to be the second largest, accounting for 17 percent.Being a major contributor to the Asia Pacific region, the Indian Textile Industry is one of the country's largest and richest industries, forming an integral part of the modern society.Ithas evolved to become self-reliant and independent. Contributing nearly 2.3 percent to the GDP of India, and 13 percent to the export earnings, the Textile Industry is the second largest industry generating employment in the country.The industry is known for being diverse, with hand-spun and hand-woven sectors at one hand and capital-intensive mills sector on the other. Decentralised power looms/hosiery and the knitting sector form the largest component in the textiles sector. The industry houses an equitable mix of organised and unorganised markets. India's textiles industry has the capacity to manufacture a wide range of products suitable to the both domestic and international markets.The advent of textile industry first saw human hands as the main tool, supplemented by ancillary tools which have been discovered over years through excavations, yielding artefacts made of stone, bone etc. It was during the colonial rule that the hand technology took second place, and the textile industry was introduced to a mechanised way of working. This was the period of Industrial Revolution. With mechanisation taking centre stage, it had a lasting impact. It adversely affected hand technology as it could no longer compete with speed, uniformity of quality and lower prices. The Industrial revolution commercially marginalised weaving and dyeing technologies using natural fibre such as cotton, through which India established a prominent place in the world trade.With marketing/distribution/retail strategies in place, there is an equal `push' and `pull' strategy from consumers ­ from a B2B & B2C perspective across various industries including (but not limited to) automobile, defence, hospitality, aviation, railways, hospitals, institutions for education, government bodies and so on. THE EVOLUTION OF TEXTILE MANUFACTURINGBy Rajendra Agarwal, Managing Director, Donear Industries
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