Steps to tackle logistics, IPR issues mooted at TAI meet

The Textile Association (TAI), Mumbai Unit organised Annual Conference on ?Indian Textiles ? The Way Forward? on Friday, 14 November 2014 at Hotel The Lalit, Mumbai. The conference received overwhelming response. The presentations were highly appreciated, particularly all the papers in the finance session. For the first time in the textile conferences, there was a presentation on intellectual property rights in textiles & garments and credit finance to textile industries. 
 
C Bose, President, TAI, Mumbai Unit welcomed the Chief Guest, Sunil Porwal, Addl. Chief Secretary (Textiles), Government of Maharashtra, Guest of Honour Dr P Nayak, Secretary, Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, Awardees, Speakers, Press, Media and delegates. He congratulated three recipients of the Industrial Excellence Awards. 
 
VC Gupte Chairman, TAI, Mumbai Unit and Convener of the Conference, gave the highlights of the event. He said that the conventional topics are discussed in most of the conferences. The Mumbai Unit ensures that non-technical topics, like finance, marketing, supply chain, etc. are covered for the benefit and interest of textile professionals. He also mentioned about taking up topic like  intellectual property rights in textiles and garments. Gupte said that various state governments like Maharasthra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have come out with the policies to attract investments and incentives to the textiles & clothing industries. He said the Maharashtra Government Textile Policy, which appeared best on the paper, needed thrust for implementation. Gupte appealed to the Processing industry to upgrade them so that it can add to the exports and reduce imports which will give boost to the Indian economy. This will also increase industrial production and add to the employment. As a Convener of the Conference, he thanked all the speakers, sponsors, advertisers and delegates for their kind support to make this conference a great success. 
 
Dr P Nayak, Secretary, Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India in his address, specially mentioned about the ?Make India? mission of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He pointed out how India has been exporting less valued items in textiles and how our value addition has been staying at a very low level. Weaving and processing sectors have to be strengthened, he said. If the basic material is not up to the mark, then the end-products will also suffer, he said. The entire industry has to be integrated in one way or the other.
 
The Textile Association (India), Mumbai Unit has set a precedent by felicitating the textile professionals for their outstanding contribution in the field of textile industry. In this Conference, the TAI, Mumbai Unit felicitated Anuj Bhagwati, Managing Director, A. T. E. Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. Dipali Goenka, Managing Director, Welspun Global Brands Ltd., and NA Acharya, Chairman, Associated Chemicals with the ?Industrial Excellence Award?. 
 
Anuj Bhagwati, accepting his felicitation, thanked all his employees for helping A.T.E. write a great success story. He said that A.T.E. will continue to focus on technologies for the textile industry along with other new areas for thrust it has undertaken since textile has a vast potential for growth in the coming years. Dipali Goenka & Acharya received the awards in absentia. 
 
Sunil Porwal, Addl. Chief Secretary (Textiles), Government of Maharashtra who was keynote speaker and the chief guest. He appreciated the topics selected for the conference. He said that huge quantity of cotton is grown in the State of Maharashtra, but thousands of bells are diverted to other states. According to Porwal, logistics is a major problem in India. Cotton is in North, West and Southern parts of the country. But the consumption centre