Fashion Freeze

After his success in attracting foreign direct investment in the telecom sector, textile minister Dayanidhi Maran is now to replicate the success in the fashion industry, especially textiles. His philosophy of “manufacture in India, sell in India and make money in India” had earlier attracted global telecom giants like Nokia, Motorola and Samsung during his stint as the telecom minister. Maran is now trying to attract global textile giants from the West using the same policy, but with an added point— “sell from India” by making India a regional hub for exports.

With foreign direct investment as its theme, Maran is leading a high-level business delegation to Germany and France on Tuesday. A similar delegation had earlier visited Italy, Switzerland and Turkey. Companies from these countries are in talks for either a green field or a joint venture investment with an Indian partner. Simultaneously, many global apparel & textiles companies have started sourcing higher volumes from India, sources in the textile ministry said.

“The comprehensive investment strategy of the minister is to convince large global textile and clothing brands to not only sell in the Indian domestic market, but also set up a manufacturing base for their global markets in India,’’ the sources said.

According to Maran, “in the crowded and mature market of textiles and international fashion, sustained and consistent efforts are required to attract foreign direct investment to India, leading to a greater integration of the Indian textile industry with the global textile manufacturing system. This deeper integration, together with international levels of excellence and global positioning, is likely to result in higher efficiencies and profitability. Such a strategy is critical to shielding the domestic industry from competition form low-cost producers like Bangladesh and Vietnam. The Centre is committed to such long-term efforts and ultimate success’’.