The Union Textiles Ministry has rejected a suggestion by the Jute Commissioner to lower the use of jute bags in 2017-18. The Jute Commissioner had recommended reducing the use of jute bags for food grains packaging by 5 per cent, from 90 per cent to 85 per cent, for this financial year.

With India’s contribution in the technical textiles industry expected to grow at 12 per cent CAGR and reach 1,16,217 crore by 2017-18, the need for new technologies in garment manufacturing machinery is on a rise. India’s leading trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens—Techtextil India—is here.

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has welcomed the announcement of Gujarat Government to extend its textile policy by one year.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will collaborate with PetroVietnam to restart the Dinh Vu polyester plant in Haiphong. Plant operator PetroVietnam Petrochemical and Textile Fiber JSC (PVTex), PetroVietnam, and Reliance discussed cooperation plans last month. Reliance will provide personnel for maintenance, material supply and sales operations.

The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has signed an MoU with Huajian Group, a Chinese business and investment company specialising in shoe manufacturing.

The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has elected P Nataraj, Managing Director, K P R Mill Limited, Coimbatore as the Chairman for the year 2017-18. He was unanimously elected as the chairman in the 58th AGM.

The Hohenstein Institute, an international research centre involved in the development, testing and certification of textile products, is set to present a webinar on textile biodegradability issues on September 19, 2017.

The stage is set for the Carpet Design Awards which enter the 13th year in 2018. Designers and makers of modern hand-made carpets have until November 1 to submit their entries for the highly coveted award.

Israel-based ROVETEX, a global textile management consulting firm, and Diagonal Consulting (India), a strategic and project consulting firm in textiles, to jointly offer strategic and operational consultation services to the Indian industry.