US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has opened a specialist unit in San Francisco to oversee imports of apparel, footwear and textiles (AFT). The new centre – which joins three other units covering pharmaceuticals, electronics and petroleum, natural gas and mineral products – is aimed at encouraging collaboration between CBP and industry.

DuPont and The Dow Chemical Company have announced that their BODs approved a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has opened a specialist unit in San Francisco to oversee imports of apparel, footwear and textiles (AFT). The new centre – which joins three other units covering pharmaceuticals, electronics and petroleum, natural gas and mineral products – is aimed at encouraging collaboration between CBP and industry.

Union Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Gangwar said the national textile policy will be finalised soon and it is likely to be ready by the month of April. Speaking to Indian Textile Journal, Gangwar said, ´The national textile policy will be finalised soon. May be at the end of April.

The South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) will commission an incubation facility in another three months to support new ventures in medical textiles.

The Cotton Association of India (CAI) has released its December estimate of the cotton crop for the 2015-16 season, which began on 1st October 2015. The CAI has placed its December estimate of the cotton crop for the 2015-16 season at 357.00 lakh bales of 170 kg each.

The newly formed Telangana state has ambitions on the textile front too. It is planning to present a new textile and Apparel policy (T-TAP) in January 2016. Besides, the state is also planning to set up textile parks in each of the district where cotton is grown as a major commercial crop.

Over the last few decades, Rajasthan has emerged as a successful textile hub. Given the labour-intensive nature of the sector, the Rajasthan government has identified it as one of the thrust areas.

The long awaited new textile policy, which aims to create 35 million new jobs and boost exports to over $300 billion annually over the next decade, is likely to be unveiled, may be within the next two months, according to Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State for Textiles.