Textile Industry & Market Growth in India

Introduction

India’s textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy dating back several centuries. India's overall textile exports during FY 2017-18 stood at US$ 39.2 billion in FY18 and is expected to increase to US$ 82.00 billion by 2021 from US$ 31.65 billion in FY19*.

The Indian textiles industry is extremely varied, with the hand-spun and hand-woven textiles sectors at one end of the spectrum, while the capital intensive sophisticated mills sector at the other end of the spectrum. The decentralized power looms/ hosiery and knitting sector forms the largest component of the textiles sector. The close linkage of the textile industry to agriculture (for raw materials such as cotton) and the ancient culture and traditions of the country in terms of textiles make the Indian textiles sector unique in comparison to the industries of other countries. The Indian textile industry has the capacity to produce a wide variety of products suitable to different market segments, both within India and across the world.

Market Size

The Indian textiles industry, currently estimated at around US$ 150 billion, is expected to reach US$ 250 billion by 2019. India’s textiles industry contributed seven percent of the industry output (in value terms) of India in 2017-18. It contributed two percent to the GDP of India and employs more than 45 million people in 2017-18. The sector contributed 15 percent to the export earnings of India in 2017-18.

The production of raw cotton in India is estimated to have reached 36.1 million bales in FY19^.

Investment

The textiles sector has witnessed a spurt in investment during the last five years. The industry (including dyed and printed) attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth US$ 3.09 billion from April 2000 to December 2018.

Some of the major investments in the Indian textiles industry are as follows:

• In May 2018, the textiles sector recorded investments worth Rs 27,000 crore (US$ 4.19 billion) since June 2017.
• The Government of India announced a Special Package to boost exports by US$ 31 billion, create one crore job opportunities and attract investments worth Rs 800.00 billion (US$ 11.93 billion) during 2018-2020. As of August 2018, it generated additional investments worth Rs 253.45 billion (US$ 3.78 billion) and exports worth Rs 57.28 billion (US$ 854.42 million).

Government Initiatives

The Indian government has come up with a number of export promotion policies for the textiles sector. It has also allowed 100 percent FDI in the Indian textiles sector under the automatic route.

Initiatives taken by the Government of India are:

• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has revised rates for incentives under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) for two subsectors of Textiles Industry - Readymade garments and Made ups - from 2 percent to 4 percent.
• As of August 2018, the Government of India has increased the basic customs duty to 20 percent from 10 percent on 501 textile products, to boost Make in India and indigenous production.
• The Government of India announced a Special Package to boost exports by US$ 31 billion, create one crore job opportunity and attract investments worth Rs 80,000 crore (US$ 11.93 billion) during 2018-2020. As of August 2018, it generated additional investments worth Rs 25,345 crore (US$ 3.78 billion) and exports worth Rs 57.28 billion (US$ 854.42 million).
• The Government of India has taken several measures including Amended Technology Up- gradation Fund Scheme (A-TUFS), the scheme is estimated to create employment for 35 lakh people and enable investments worth Rs 95,000 crore (US$ 14.17 billion) by 2022.
• Integrated Wool Development Programme (IWDP) approved by Government of India to provide support to the wool sector starting from wool rearer to end consumer which aims to enhance the quality and increase the production during 2017-18 and 2019-20.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Government of India has approved a new skill development scheme named 'Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)' with an outlay of Rs 1,300 crore (US$ 202.9 million) from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Achievements

Following are the achievements of the government in the past four years:

• I-ATUFS, a web-based claims monitoring and tracking mechanism was launched on April 21, 2016.
• 381 new block-level clusters were sanctioned.
• 20 new textile parks were sanctioned
• Employment increased to 8.62 million in FY18 from 8.03 in FY15.

Road Ahead

The future for the Indian textile industry looks promising, buoyed by both strong domestic consumption as well as export demand. With consumerism and disposable income on the rise, the retail sector has experienced rapid growth in the past decade with the entry of several international players like Marks & Spencer, Guess and Next into the Indian market.

High economic growth has resulted in higher disposable income. This has led to a rise in demand for products creating a huge domestic market.

Exchange Rate Used: INR 1 = US$ 0.0139 as of Q3 FY19.

References: Ministry of Textiles, Indian Textile Journal, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Press Information Bureau

Note: * till January 2019, ^ - during the cotton season October–September

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.

Degumming of Silk

Objective :
       De gumming or boiling-off is the process employed to remove the silk gum (sericin) enveloping the two raw silk threads (fibrion) . During the spinning process of silk by silkworms the two filaments are made into one by means of pretentious gummy substance called sericin.
The gum content of silk varies according to quality and origin. Bombyx mori or Mulbery silks have about 20-30% gum and Tussah 5-15%. The gum is not completely removed in every case. The extent of de gumming gives rise to different varieties of silk . ‘Ecru silk’ (crude, bast silk) is rarely degummed, quite hard and without lustre. The degumming loss is maximum 4%, since mostly only grease, wax and resin substances are removed. This type of silk is mainly used as warp threads. ‘Half-boiled silk (souple, soft, matt silk) is partially degummed. The degumming loss is approximately 6-12%. ‘Cuite silk’ (lustre silk) with nearly 18-30% gum loss can be classified as a completely degummed variety with a soft handle and high lustre.

Apart from sericin, other impurities present in silk are lubricants and softeners added during throwing or in preparation for weaving or knitting, dirt and oils picked up incidentally during processing and undesirable natural colors. The component of fats and oils is around 0.5-1% and that of natural pigments 1.0-1.4%. During the degumming process soil, stain, oil and fats sticking to the material will also be removed. Thus degumming is synonymous with the scouring process normally used for the purification of cotton and wool. Silk warp is not subjected to sizing before weaving like cotton. However, grey silk fabric and its blended fabrics are subjected to singeing prior to degumming. Degumming can be carried out by physical or chemical means on silk in the form of hank and also on fabrics which are subsequently taken for dyeing. The choice of degumming conditions depends on the type of silk product (yam, twist, fabrics of different densities). Wild silk fabric is more difficult to degum than Mulbery silk. Tussah silk contains higher quantities of calcium salt. Loss in weight of silk by degumming process is also accompanied by a loss in strength of approximately 20%. The loss of weight and volume can be completely or partially compensated by the subsequent weighting process. Degumming is effected by careful treatment of silk with high pressure water, acids, alkalies, soaps and synthetic detergents. Chemical dissolution of sericin is obtained partly by hydrolysis and partly by dispersion, independent of the method used. Soap works mainly by dispersion whilst alkalies have a strong hydrolytic effect .
METHODS OF DEGUMMING :
Degumming of Silk in Water :
Cultivated varieties of silk can be degummed by extraction with water at 120 deg celcius for about 2 h and repeating the process three to four times. In this case degradation of silk is minimum, but use of pressure equipment is essential. However, some modification of the protein molecule does take place.
Degumming of Silk With Alkali and Acid :
         Silk degumming in aqueous solutions of acids and alkalies is greatly influenced by pH and temperature. An alkaline reaction at a pH > 9 and acid reaction at pH < 2.5 ensure a rapid elimination of sericin completely after 30 min of treatment. The temperature should not exceed 95 deg celcius to avoid weakening of the fibre. The degree of hydrolysis of fibrion also depends on pH of the bath.
Degumming of Silk With Soap :
        Degumming is effected by careful boiling-off in soap baths which should be slightly alkaline. The fibre is treated with soap solution to give a pH around 10.0 at 90-95 deg celcius for 1.5-2 h. In order to avoid lien soap deposits and resulting stains, the water should be properly softened. Sequestering agent may be added in the bath to correct the hardness of water. In case of white and delicate varieties a two bath method may be employed. The second degumming bath will consist of 50% quantity of soap taken for the first degumming bath and the duration of treatment may be divided equally between 40-45 min for each bath. Neutral soap like Merseille soap or olive oil soap have no degumming property as the free alkali present in them are very negligible. However, Merseille soap (8 g/l) can be used in presence of non-ionic tenside (fatty alcohol polyglycol ether) (1-3 g/l), polyphosphate (1-3 g/l) (for softening the water) and soda (1 g/l) at 95 deg celcius for 1-2 h with a material to liquor ratio of 1:30. Here also a two bath method can be resorted to. Non-ionic tenside accelerates the degumming process and facilitates rinsing out the soap. Tussah silk is usually prewetted with boiling water before degumming and then degummed in strong alkaline bath.

Drawbacks of Degumming with Soap :
            The main drawbacks are soap is expensive, great quantity of soap is required and longer treatment time.
Degumming of Silk With Synthetic Detergents:
           A large number of synthetic detergents are available in the market and their selection is very important particularly on the requirement of soft feel as that achieved with soap. Non-ionic product like nonyl phenol ethoxylated com- pound in the pH range of 11.2-11.5 for a treatment time of 40 min at 95 deg celcius is found to remove the gum and maintain the strength of the yarn .
Enzymatic Degumming of Silk :
           Enzyme which can hydrolyze the sericin is classified as proteolytic enzymes . The proteolytic enzymes cleave the peptide/amide linkages and convert them into amino acid. Mainly there are three types of proteolytic enzymes such as zinc protease (e.g. carboxy peptidase A), serine protease (Chymotrypsin, Trypsin, Thrombin) and thiol protease (acts as cystine residue in the protein). The function of proteolytic enzymes in their degree of degumming depends on the pH of the bath and the optimum activity is found to be different at different pH for different enzymes. Usually enzymatic desizing of silk is a two stage process. In pre degumming stage, the cloth is treated with a solution containing soda-ash (1 g/l) at 95 deg celcius for 20 min at a liquor ratio of 30. In the second stage, further degumming is carried out by treatment in a solution containing protein enzyme (0.06-0.1 g/l), non-ionic detergent (1 g/l) for 30 min at 55 to 60 deg celcius .It is usually impossible to achieve full degumming of silk by enzymes. A short-time treatment in a third bath containing soda-ash or soap may be given for the removal of the remaining sericin.
Foam Degumming :
            The degumming of silk can also be carried out by foam method. The silk skiens are subjected to the action of foam from a boiling soap bath. Skiens are actually hung above the soap solution and the foam action has a tendency to dissolve and eliminate sericin. This method, however, is not popularly adopted.
Partial Degumming of Silk :
            Before partial degumming the silk is degreased in moderately warm (30-40 deg celcius) and slightly alkaline soap baths. The actual degumming is then taken place in a bath containing acid salts or acids. The sericin is not released as much in an acid medium as it is in a neutral or alkaline bath, thus only partial degumming results. Acid degumming has also a positive effect on the strength and handle. The actual degumming bath can have various compositions :

1. – Sulphuric acid and magnesium sulphate,
2. – Sulphuric acid and soap,
3.  – Sulphuric acid and tartar,
4.  – 4% strength soap solution,
5. –  NaHSO 3 solution.

Depending on the nature of silk, it is treated for 1-3 h at boiling temperature. The weight loss with half boiled silk lies in the range of 6-12% on the original raw weight.

Washing of Degummed Silk :
           After boiling-off, the silk is thoroughly washed with lot of water at 50-60 deg celcius containing 1ml / 1 ammonia for 15-20 min. This is then followed by 1 to 2 cold rinsing baths. Half-boiled silk should not be subjected to hot soap baths and alkaline liquors over 30 deg celcius because this would act on the silk gum still present. Following washing and drying silk is given further mechanical treatment in the form of stretching, beating or glossing. Scroop is imparted to the silk fabric by treatment with 2-5 g/1 of 30% acetic acid at room temperature for 15-30 min. When silk is delivered in dyed condition, scrooping is done after dyeing. Both degumming and partial degumming are only suitable for reeled silk .
Comparative Assessment of Different Degumming Methods:
         Given below is a table which shows comparative assessment of different degumming methods. Different methods have been evaluated on the basis of weight and strength loss after degumming. The values with soap have been taken as the basis. It can be seen that soap, alkali and acidic degumming give the highest gum removal. However, alkali and acid both cause significant strength loss which points to silk damage. On the other hand amines seem to be good at degumming as well as retaining strength. Enzymes while good at retaining strength are not able to remove the sericin very effectively. This is a limitation especially with fabrics where due to their large molecular size enzymes molecules are unable to enter the interstices of the fabric. Hence enzymatic degumming may be preferred for yarns rather than fabrics.

ASSESSMENT OF DEGUMMING:
            The simplest method to assess degumming is based on weight loss. However, in this case initial rapid weight loss may be followed by attack on fibroin. UV absorption at 280 nm has also been used to assess extent of degumming. Absorption is due to tyrosine and tryptophan.