By+Flora+ZHAO

The showcase of world textile engineering， India International Textile Machinery Exhibition（India ITME 2016） began in Mumbai on December 3rd， 2016. The six-day event was inaugurated by Mr. Sanjiv Lathia， Chairman， in the presence of Ms. Seema Srivastava， Executive Director， India ITME Society. Hosted once in four years， India ITME has grown to be as one of the largest in this sector globally. The exhibition concluded on December 8th， 2016

The event provides an effective platform for joint ventures and collaborations between the stakeholders of textile industry in India and overseas. 1，050 exhibitors from 38 countries displayed worlds state-of-the-art machines and technologies. The 10th edition also witnessed launch of 24 products besides discussions， knowledge sharing， profiling of artisans， photography exhibition， etc. Foreign & domestic business leaders， academicians， research scholars， government officials from countries such as Philippians， Myanmar， Bangladesh， Srilanka， Iran， Turkey， Brazil， Indonesia， Poland， Malaysia， Kenya， Ethiopia， Egypt， etc. visited India ITME 2016. India is not only a strong market but also is explored as a hub for training and skill development by many countries for textiles and textile engineering.

India ITME Society is four-decade old nonprofit organization with a vision to support the industry through exhibitions facilitating investments and joint ventures and technology transfer.

State of Gujarat and State of Karnataka par- ticipated in this event as state partners. This event was also supported by Department of Heavy Industry， Govt. of India， Textile Ministry， Government of India and Government of Maharashtra making it the most important platform between governments and the industry members to interact and work together. The idea of “Make in India” in textile engineering shall be promoted to the visiting foreign business visitors and also propagate government schemes and incentives for the textile industry in India.

The textile sector is one of the largest contributions to Indias exports with approximately 11% of total exports. Indias overall textile exports during F.Y.2015-2016 stood at US$ 40 billion and the industry is expected to reach US$223 billion by 2021.

The textile industry is the second largest employer in India after agriculture. It is felt utmost necessary that Indian textile machine manufacturing industry needs to strengthen its base for quality output and efficiency through innovation and best technologies available anywhere in the world. India is now developing in manifold in most of the sectors especially in the spinning machinery manufacturing segments.

Senior officials from Universities in Bangladesh， Philippians， Myanmar， Ethiopia， etc. are visiting India ITME-2016 to interact with Indian educational and technology institutions for graduate students/faculty exchange program. India ITME 2016 will have participation from institutes in India and abroad such as The Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences， Bhiwani （TIT）， DKTE Societys Textile & Engineering Institute， Ichalkaranji， Institute of Chemical Technology， Mumbai （ICT）， The Textile Institute of UK， National Institute of Fashion Technology （NIFT） and design from MIT Institute.

India ITME-2016 would not be just about business. It would also about creating a platform for Indian students and craftsman to showcase their talent and creativity to the world. Amidst whirring of the modern machineries，“Weavers of Maharashtra” shall display the magic of creating beautiful weavers of HIMROO， PAITHANI， BLOCK PRINTING， TIE DYEING. – Traditional fabric craft of state of Maharashtra.

Photo art gallery displaying “wild life and ethic India” by renowned photographers Dilip Bhatia and Hari Santharam shall add to the visual delights of the visitors. The creative design from the students of MIT Pune & Experience the colours fabrics， fusion of modern and aesthetic fashion from National Institute of Fashion Technology （NIFT）.

Indian Textile Industry Adopts Technology to Take on China

The Indian textile industry is adopting worlds latest technology to cater to the world demand in textiles. Going by the interest shown by world technology leaders at the ongoing India ITME 2016， the textiles landscape in India is about to change. Participation from 38 countries， huge amount of foreign visitors and an overwhelming participation by Indian manufacturers of textile machinery is perhaps a testimony of the mood of domestic textile industry. The textile consumption within India is growing rapidly. Also， with Chinas share in world textiles trade about seven times of that of India， the Indian manufacturers are sensing an opportunity in exports. The six-day Exhibition is witnessing dozens of product launches and is proving to be an effective platform for joint ventures and collaborations between the stakeholders of textile industry in India and overseas.

Speaking at TexSummit 2016， an international conference， Mr. Sanjiv Lathia， Chairman， India ITME Society said， “The biggest change in next 5years will be higher automation in all machines leading to better quality products for the ends users. I also expect move advanced technology machines to be available from Indian manufacturers”

Product launches by manufacturers like Kirloskar Toyota with new high-efficiency motors ensuring excellent energy and space-saving ma- chines， Color Jet with their biggest digital Metro and Vastrajet printers for a variety of fabrics like cotton， silk wool， polyester etc. World leader Karl Mayer is displaying latest innovation in wrap technology besides introducing in Lace machine for the Indian Market. French machinery manufacturers focus on offering state of art service and machinery in multiple applications. Saurer Groups new product range is built around Make in India. There are 24 new launches scheduled reflecting latest innovations and technology in the sector.

Aiming to create one crore jobs in textile industry in next 3 years

The Textile Commissioner， Dr. Kavita Gupta encouraged the indian textile industry and grab the domestic as well as global opportunity. Sharing several initiatives laid out by the government in Research & Development， textile parks， branding， marketing， skilling， she said， “The textile industry needs to think of quantum growth using innovation and technology. The government is doing all that it could in this direction. The industry needs to generate one crore additional jobs in next three years.”Dr. Gupta was addressing the textile engineers from SASMIRA at the ongoing India ITME 2016 here today.

Mentioning that textile machinery manufacturing in India needs to catch up with the world level， Dr. Gupta shared several incentives available in this regard. It is only in the textile industry where a single unit is eligible for all incentives. On display at India ITME 2016 are worlds best innovations and technologies. 1050 manufacturers of textile machinery from across 38 countries are showcasing their products. The worlds best names are looking into India as one big opportunity. It is an opportune time that we start exploiting the opportunity ourselves. “Strengthening of domestic industry will ensure that we create more jobs for ourselves” Dr. Gupta concluded.