s This is the god send time to revamp the industry in very respect, if government cannot grant 100% IT exemption export profit or on sale of licences, or increase DBK, or compensate for rupee appreciation, so be it. Let me ask for interest free loans for industry modernization-there must be a Moratorium for ten years for the textile industry for all the loans to be taken in two/three years. I urge all the industry leader to join hands to infuse Rs.10,000 crores into the industry and make it full automated so that we product quality textiles at competitive prices. If china an do thins in the last decade when we were sleeping can’t we wake up now atleast at a time when tae demand is low and not much capacity is being used. The modernization on the silk industry with the state of art machinery is a must to innovate and create value added new items.
                                                       
It may not appear as economics scene in the normal times, to infuse money when the going is not good. But it is surely sensible, when we have a lot of spare time and most of the labour cannot otherwise be used. We have to dismantle and throw out our age-old machinery into to the sea now. We have to mow our manufacturing out of cities to a more spacious suburbs .

Coming back to realities, silk exports until September, 2007 were Rs. 1367 crores equivalent to US $ 350 millions. It may be wrong to assume that the exports in the remaining period will match the first half; at best, I expect that the exports in the remaining period will reach a total of Rs 2400 crores or about US $ 600 Millions.

Hemitextile, January, 2008 lacked its usual lusture. Is the fire lost its total relevance to us? Or is it due to global economic slump that we did not get visitors turnover?

The council proposes to participate textilegprom fair, March 25-28, 2008 in Moscow. As the Russian market has opened up with imports, you may consider participation. The silk show Jan.’08 had to be postponed and you will hear the new dates soon. Please do write to me on all the aspects, so that I may represented your views to the Government.

Yours sincerely,

T.V. Maruthi
Chairman