Wednesday, 28^th November 2018, New Delhi: The Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, inaugurated CITI’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations – Global Textiles Conclave 2018 (CITI GTC 2018) on 27^th November 2018, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.  The entire textile and clothing industry was overwhelmed with the presence of the Hon’ble Vice-President of India who attended the Conclave as the Chief Guest. The Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani also graced the occasion as Guest of Honour and delivered the Keynote Address in the Inaugural Session.

The Hon’ble Vice-President addressed the audience by his motivational speech and requested the T&C Industry to carry forward the old age long tradition started by the skilled craftsman of the Indian textile industry. He also stressed that in the ancient time the Indian textile industry had the largest share in the growth of India’s economy, while today, it has been mere reduced to 4% of the GDP.

Speaking at the Session, Hon’ble Vice-President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu stated that disruptions lead to innovations and transformations which should be focus area for textiles and apparel sector. Mr. Naidu also advised the industry to focus on backward and forward integration, value addition and diversifying products. He stated that according to the projections, Indian textile and apparel industry has the potential to grow at a CAGR of 14% and reach US$ 300 billion by 2025 from US$ 150 billion achieved in the year 2017. The exports are expected to receive boost in the wake of trade agreements with ASEAN and the proposed agreement with China, he added. He also said that industry should consolidate MSME sector by establishing Hubs and Spoke model of cluster development facilities, give major thrust to skill development, upgrade technology and adopt Industry 4.0. The industry also needs to adopt lean manufacturing systems to remain globally competitive.

Shri Naidu also highlighted that Indian Government has taken various initiatives such as establishing textile parks, Technology upgradation through TUFS, etc., Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks which have fuelled the growth of the textile industry of India.

Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani highlighted initiatives like Silk Samagra, Samarth introduced by the Government to support Indian textile value chain. She expressed gratitude to the industry captains for supporting the Government by adopting GST reforms and urged them to tap the huge potential in technical textiles which has been identified as a sunrise sector. Hon’ble Minister also mentioned that the national sample survey organisation will collate the data of Indian textile retail market by collaborating with office of the Textile Commissioner. To establish the size of Indian market, the government is also going to conduct a size India survey. The Hon’ble Minister of Textiles was very appreciative of the efforts made by CITI.

Chairman in his welcome address thanked the Hon’ble Vice President of India for taking out time from his busy schedule for inaugurating the CITI Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. He also thanked the Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani for always supporting CITI and the Indian textile industry and resolving many of the industry’s critical issues. He briefed the audience about the 60 years journey of CITI (erstwhile ICMF) and its contribution for the development of Indian textile industry, including cotton farmers by organising sensitisation program through kisan melas.

The Hon’ble Vice President of India conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award to Shri Suresh Kotak, Chairman, Kotak & Co. and also gave away Pioneering Awards to Shri Shekhar Agarwal, Vice Chairman, RSWM Ltd., Shri P. Nataraj, Managing Director, KPR Mill Ltd., Shri Neeraj Jain, Joint Managing Director, Vardhman Textiles Ltd. and Shri Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, Chairman & Managing Director, LMW Ltd.

The Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles felicitated the Past Chairmen of CITI for their commendable and untiring work contributed towards the development of the textile sector.

CITI Chairman signed MoUs with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). and Uzbekistan Textile and Garment IndustryAssociation (UZTEXTILEPROM) for carrying out trade promotional activities in both the countries.

The Hon’ble Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Chaired the Valedictory Session on 28^th November 2018 and gave away InnoTex 2018 Awards to the top three Winners for doing excellent work in their fields. Minister also awarded the trophies to Technopak and NITRA for being the knowledge partners of CITI Diamond Jubilee Celebrations and InnoTex 2018. In his address, the Hon’ble Minister advised the Textile Industry stakeholders to have brainstorming sessions on the current challenges and opportunities prevailing in the global T&C Sector and prepare a roadmap for the future of the Indian textile sector. He assured the textile Industry stakeholders that his government is willing to address the genuine concerns of the Industry and support export promotion.

Vice Chairman, Shri D.L. Sharma delivered the Vote of Thanks in the Valedictory Session and concluded the Conclave by thanking all the sponsors, speakers, jury members, past chairmen, Knowledge Partners, delegates, media people and CITI team for taking the event to such a grand level. He also said that it would not have been possible to manage such a mega event without the support of all the people.