Apparel Online India Magazine January 1st Issue 2019 | Page 14

MIND TREE
Q: There is general buzz in the industry
that there are enough orders, yet this is not
happening. Your reaction…
September 1-15
Selvakumar S, CEO, E-Land Apparel, Bangalore – Overall business is
shrinking. But one has to understand that demand is there, and which is
also increasing year-after-year. The people have buying power, but at the
same time challenges are also there. Nobody is willing to invest; even the
people, who make money from the garment industry, are not investing
much. As a company, we are also facing challenges which are hard to
overcome. We are going for automation but still, there is struggle due
to various reasons. Further, we are also exploring Jharkhand and Andhra
Pradesh as low-cost manufacturing places.
Q: An Integrated Textile Policy is a long-drawn
commitment of the Textile Ministry and many textile
secretaries have since come and gone, but nothing has
moved… With elections around the corner, can we expect
the policy to finally see light of day?
September 16-30
Vinod Thapar, President, Knitwear and Textile Club, Ludhiana – Yes,
it is disappointing that the Government could not deliver integrated
textile policy and that there are fewer chances that it will see light of day
in coming months. In fact, it is very surprising when all the textiles-based
states have announced their policies, and are offering various kinds of
subsidies...
Q: The Indian rupee has been depreciating as it is
somewhere at 72.36 against 1 US dollar, a never before
variation, becoming currently one of Asia’s worst
performers. Being an exporter, is this fruitful to you or
not… Are you hedging in these circumstances and what
will be its impact on your business?
October 1-15
Vijay Jindal, SPL Industries, Faridabad – Indian rupee is not dying as it
is being presented. Our neighbouring countries that are our competitors
also, have seen their currencies fall against the dollar. Definitely, Indian
exporters will have some gain from this. One may say that buyers keep this
currency development in mind during price negotiation, but I feel that all
gains by the weak rupee will not be passed on to the buyers. Hedging is a
very complicated issue as no one can rightly predict about its result, but I
preferred to hedge 50 per cent of our total sale.
Q: Fabric sourcing is one of the most challenging tasks, no
matter whether you directly work with mills, C&F agents
or source yarn and get it weaved and processed… What
is your strategy to ensure smooth fabric sourcing from
selection to quality assurance to timely delivery?
October 16-31
Narinder Pal Singh, MD, Nancy Krafts, Delhi – We mainly work on
woven fabrics. No doubt, there is an improvement in fabric sourcing
process due to increasing competition across India. For quality issues, your
selection of vendors does matter, but at the same time you can’t ignore the
price factor also as prices increase anytime without any strong and valid
reason affecting our pockets...
14 Apparel Online India | JANUARY 1-15, 2019 | www.apparelresources.com
Q: Many of the associations like AEPC, CITI,
SIMA, CMAI, GEAR, etc. have repeated their
office-bearers… Are there no fresh talents?
Your take…
November 1-15
Ajit Lakra, Head, Textile Division, FICO; President of the Ludhiana
Knitters Association, Ludhiana – Overall this is not a democratic
way. No one should serve more than two years at the helm of any
organisation or association and those who have already served should
not get a second opportunity similar to US elections. By serving again
and again, or for the long term, one gets used to enjoying the power
or position.
Q: In the last few years, several schemes, including skill
development, are the focus of our Government as well as of all
the stakeholders of Indian textile and apparel industry. But on
the ground level there are still gaps in skill sets. Why it is so?
November 16-30
Rakesh Vaid, Senior Vice Chairman,ATDC, Gurgaon – Skill
development regarding apparel industry is a very dynamic thing like
that of a painter, a writer or a sculptor… Fashion is changing every
day… We at ATDC are trying to fill this gap at a faster rate and have
initiated new programmes for upskilling. It is a misconception that new
generation does not want to come on the shopfloor, or that they prefer
only white-collar jobs...
Q: Like every year, this time too, the serious issue of air
pollution is creating several problems in Delhi-NCR and in
nearby states. Have you taken any precautionary measures
in this regard, like supplying masks or creating awareness?
Have any of your overseas buyers cancelled their trip due to
pollution?
December 1-15
KC Biswas, Senior Manager, HR & Compliance, Kavita Women Wear
(Lakshita), Noida – Our company is already providing buses to our
workers so that they can have comfortable means of transport to come and
go from the factory. Masks were already given to them long time back and
they use it properly, so I have not come across any impact that our workers
faced due to pollution. Despite that, we have also guided our workforce
about pollution...
Q: Labour hiring and firing has become a vicious circle for
garment exporters. If orders are not there, factories have
to fire them, but in case of more orders, getting labour
becomes difficult and factories end up paying more to the
workers. How are you managing the same?
December 16-31
Archana Tomar Mann, VP, Compliance, CSR, Training & Development,
Orient Craft, Gurgaon – This issue depends on the systems, and varies
from company to company and even factory to factory. But looking at the
seasonal nature of the business, in few factories, we do have some workers
on contract too, so we plan accordingly and allocate work. As nearly 80 per
cent workforce is migratory, they do know when and for how many days
their factory will have workload or normal orders. We have never asked any
worker to leave and similarly, workers also prefer to work with us. We do
offer scholarships to our workers’ children to support their education, have
proper focus on their health and safety.