In India, after agriculture, it is the textile industry that is growing and thriving at a fast rate. It is the second-largest and India’s oldest industry that has a big presence in the national economy with 14% contribution and value-addition.
It also gives employment to millions of people and is a big part of our country. This is a self-reliant industry, starting from the production of raw materials to the delivery of finished goods.
The Indian textile industry is one of the largest in the world that consists of a huge raw material and textile manufacturing. To state the fact – about 27% of the foreign exchange earnings happen due to the export of textiles to other countries; hence it would be safe to say that the Indian economy is largely dependent upon this.
Here’s another fact for you, approximately 35 million people are directly employed in this industry. Indirect employment includes people engaged in raw-material production like cotton and work that is related to trade. Our Indian textile industry is mostly based on cotton, as 65% of raw materials are cotton.
Indian Textile Industry Strength
Let’s look at some of the strengths of the Indian textile industry that makes this industry one of the best ones in the world.
- India has highly trained manpower and is rich in it. Because of the lower wages in the country, India is benefitted a lot from it.
- India is also rich in raw materials; hence the textile industry is booming in the country. It is also the largest producer of cotton and is rich in resources like silk, viscose, polyester, etc.
- The Indian textile industry is very diverse as there are a lot of things to be taken into account like manufacturing facility, quantity, type of apparel, quality of output, the requirement of fabric, cost, etc. It has suppliers that are both international as well as domestic.
- Having a presence in all processes of the value chain, India is very competitive in the spinning sector.
Structure Of India’s Textile Industry
The Indian textile industry consists of small-scale nonintegrated spinning, finishing, weaving, and apparel-making enterprises, which is unlike any other country in the world. This is because of the government policies, which are labor-intensive, discriminate against larger-scale firms and small-scale operations.
Textile manufacturing is surely one extensive industry that consists of a complex procedure. There are various stages involved turn yarn into the fabric that eventually becomes a product.
The various stages of manufacturing textiles are:
- Spinning
- Weaving
- Dyeing + Printing + Finishing
- Garment manufacturing
Let us talk about the process a little in detail.
Spinning
This is the first stage of the manufacturing process. Spinning is a procedure through which fiber materials are converted into yarns. In this stage, the fiber goes through the blow room in which the cotton becomes smaller in size with the help of the machine, followed by carding.
In continuation to this, the fiber is then drawn, which includes attenuating in spinning mills. Withdrawing, silver is produced, which is then processed for a combination where the size of the cloth is kept consistent. Further, it is time for roving for the purpose of preparing the input package. This is done by rollers which are later spun around the spindle that is rotating.
Weaving
This is the second stage which comes after spinning. After spinning, when the yarn is wrapped around the spindle, it is now sent for doubling and twisting.
It is only after this that the yarn is processed for shifting, which becomes a convenient form of a package that consists of sufficient yarn length.
During the creeling stage, the packages are replaced with new ones, which are later wrapped and given a protective coating to avoid breaking, called sizing, which is an important part of the process. It is then processed for winding on a weavers beam supported by the final step called weaving.
Dyeing + Printing + Finishing
The next step is the dyeing, printing, and finishing of the product. Dyeing and sprinting happen before the application of other finishes to the product in dyeing mills.
In this process, it provides color to fabrics which eventually improves their appearance. Later, it is converted from woven to knitted cloth, known as finishing. This is done after dyeing or printing to give a particular look.
Garment Manufacturing
This is the final stage and the end of the manufacturing procedure that converts semi-finished cloth into the finished product.
The garment manufacturing companies do various steps for the production of cloth. Some of these processes are – color, sewing, washing, designing, dispatch, sampling, making, cutting, finishing, and more.
Conclusion
I hope this article has made you understand better the textile manufacturing process that takes place in India. The process sure is lengthy, but it is due to this that we get the best material and fabric.
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at BlueFashion. She has been steering the website’s content and editorial direction since 2013. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra’s expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
