The Indian textile sector is keen to diversify and enhance its value, according to Dr Seshadri Ramkumar, of Texas Tech University, US, who has recently wrapped up a three-month sojourn in India that he says ”resulted in many interactions with industrialists and academics spanning spinning, weaving, finishing and technical textiles”.
The trip had its finale with a visit to Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences in Peenya, Bengaluru, to interact with professors and students in the Faculty of Art and Design. “I was pleased to notice the motto of the institute to be, ‘Applied Brilliance Makes all the Difference’,” says Ramkumar. Situated in the Peenya Industrial Estate, which has about 900 garment units, it is a “perfect fit” that the university offers programmes in industrial design and textile fashion design. ”Some of the leading names in the sector that are housed in the area include Gokaldas Exports, Gemini Finishing Mill, Sonal Exports, Shahi Exports, Texport Oversees, etc,” he adds.
The department of fashion design is focusing on institute-industry interaction with skills development activities such as a 45-day programme on sewing for training the workforce with less formal education such as those with just fifth grade, states Dr Mamatha Hegde, head of the department of fashion design. With the support of central and state governments, training programmes for shop floor technicians in the garment industry such as fabric quality evaluation, garment manufacturing basics, and shop floor management that includes occupational safety are planned.
Recently, a few garment units have closed due to a lack of exports and labour issues, Hegde adds. This necessitates the need for new product development to enhance the textile sector.
As part of Ramkumar’s interaction with about 200 people, he says he was fortunate to do a demonstration of the ‘Towelie’ oil absorbent product, which he developed to address the Gulf of Mexico oil spill issue. Undergraduate students showed keen interest to know about research and development activities in textiles. B Ram Kishan, a third-year undergraduate product design student performed hands-on demonstration of the Towelie oil absorbent. “Hopefully, such activities will create interest among young students to take-up applied textile research to address global issues,” says Ramkumar.
Training the textile industry workforce at shop floor and research levels is the “need of the hour”. This aspect has been aptly handled by the current Modi government by launching the Skill India campaign to train the industrial workforce in different fields. “Industry will benefit if skills for marketing and project management are also imparted,” he concludes.
