India ITME organises networking dinner

India ITME Society organised a networking dinner on November 16, 2015 at Milan to promote the opportunities in India for textile machinery manufactures. This programme was attended by industry members, associations and government officials from various countries. The special programme was by invite only and saw a good gathering comprising of 17 associations, 36 journalists & above 50 multinational companies from 17 countries. The evening was graced by H.E. Basant K Gupta, Ambassador of India to Italy as Chief Guest and Raoul Ascari, Chief Global Development Officer, SACE as Guest of Honour.

On this occasion, Ascari spoke about the support offered by SACE to Italian companies interested in investing in India. This presentation generated much interest among the invited guests and definitely will lead to future activities beneficial for the textile & textile engineering industry of both India & Italy.

Gupta spoke about the various textile parks and schemes initiated by the Government of India which is expected to create more opportunities for textile machinery manufacturers and textile companies in India.

He highlighted various schemes by the Government of India to encourage ?Make in India? and the high demand for modern textile machinery in India. This was accentuated by the fact that ITMA attracted 11,070 visitors from India ranking highest in visitor number only next to host country Italy.

Also on this occasion, Raju Paithankar, Indian Textile Technologist presented about the traditional textile fabric of India ?Pashmina Cashmere? rare & luxury fibre obtained from a specific breed of goats which survive at a height of 17,000 feet in Ladakh. This fibre is very much sought after globally and the goats are taken care by local tribes Changpas. Paithankar and two Italian companies ? Loro Piana and Reda ? are jointly doing extensive work for producing and promoting this traditional fabric from India.

Post the formal programme, an informal discussion took place to explore how further activities can help Indo-Italian business activity which was attended by Gupta, Dr Madan Mohan Sethi, First Secretary (Commercial), Embassy of India, Rome, Italy, Arun Kumar Sharma, Consul Gen. of India to Italy, Ascari, R Anand, VP, Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Gloria Kinda Targetti, of Simest Spa, David Faini, MD, Marzoli Machines Textile Srl, Italy, Giuseppe Gherzi, Partner.

Gherzi Textil, Switzerland, Ritu Pande, Director, Dept of Heavy Industry, Government of India, Sanjiv Lathia, Chairman and committee members of India ITME Society.

The presentation was followed by networking dinner providing an opportunity for the guests from various countries to interact, exchange ideas and discuss future cooperation with India.

The next major international event for textile engineering industry, India ITME-2016 is scheduled in Mumbai from December 3-8, 2016.