Al Alam Al Youm, p.10, (5/5/2007)

The Indian recipe for textile and yarn sector could be implemented on condition that an independent ministry should be established

The second part of the study presented by the Textiles and Yarn Industry Support Fund showed the principle market of the Indian textile products, which is the US and the support programs in the textile sectors.

The US market

Indian textiles to US markets in 2005 reached about 2335 million m² which is estimated at $ 4617 million. The textile imports of the US during 2005 to reach 2335 million m². The Indian share of the US textile market increased from 2.8% in 1995 to 3.6% in 2005.

If we study the prices of Indian and Chinese textile products during the period from 1995 till 2005 we will notice that the Chinese prices are less than those of Indian textile. This is one of the results of China's joining of the WTO.

Support programs

The annual report of the Indian Ministry of Textiles for the year 2005/2006 stated that there are several programs for direct and indirect support for the textile industries in India. They aim at attracting local and foreign investments to the sector as well as developing it and increasing the skills of its manpower.

The Indian ministry of finance issued a number of measures in 2003 for this purpose. Right to Information Act (RTI) was issued in 2005 and accordingly any person could have access to any information against the payment of very low fees.

India allows for the establishment of joint ventures in the field of textiles. This requires the approval of the Indian government or the RBI which takes 30 days only. This led to the outflow of FDI to this sector.

The volume of FDI in the Indian textile sector reached $ 1 billion during the period from 1991 till 2006 which were invested in 833 projects, 170 of which were high technology projects.

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