PM asks textile industry to prepare long-term strategies and goals

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today urged the textile industry to look far into the future and invest for the coming two decades and not for the next season.

New Delhi, Sep 1 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today urged the textile industry to look far into the future and invest for the coming two decades and not for the next season.

Asking them to adapt to the changing scenario by cutting costs and becoming competitive, Singh assured them that the Government would take all measures to ensure that real productive sectors of the economy are not hurt by rupee appreciation.

Speaking at the TexSummit 2007, Singh said: "Sops and subsidies will work in currency appreciation is a transient phenomenon. However, in the long run, the industry must adjust itself to the new dynamic."

He emphasised that the textile sector must graduate from being low cost, low value supplier to high volume, high value supplier, and side by side, it must also develop internationally known brands and labels with global footprint and global ambitions.

Recognising the strategic role of textile sector in industrial economy, the Prime Minister said that this sector could act as a vehicle for nationwide industrial modernisation and revitalisation of traditional skills and designs.

"The textiles sector is the second largest provider of employment after agriculture. Thus, the growth and all round development of this industry has a direct bearing on our ability to make our growth process more socially inclusive," he said.

ANI