Coimbatore : Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), is one of the largest textile entrepreneurs association in India, Sunday appealed to brands and retailers to focus on local sourcing, which would result in creation of 1.5 lakh job opportunities and lift the rural wages significantly.

The appeal was made following the observation of a 53 per cent jump in the imports of readymade garments from Bangladesh, ITF Convenor, Prabhu Dhamodaran said in a statement here.

Bangladesh’s overall exports to its neighbour-India during July-April period of 2018-19, increased by an astounding 53 per cent to touch US 1.07 billion dollar and data from Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh, revealed that it earned 701.56 million Dollars during the corresponding period of last financial year, with major contribution from readymade apparels, he said..

Stating that in rupees terms it was about 7,500 crores worth of garmenting business which India has lost to its neighbour, Prabhu said *It would have created an additional 6,000 jobs in spinning sector, 500 jobs in processing sector, one lakh in garmenting sector and another 40,000 jobs in printing and embroidery sector of Textile Value chain*.

*Western retailers having outlets in India, as well as Indian local brands are sourcing their goods from Bangladesh*, have also aided in this growth and It is paradoxical because our Government is making best possible efforts to promote “Make in India”, “Skill India” and incentivizing job creations in the 2nd most labour intensive sector of India i.e. the textile industry, he pointed out.

Through these schemes, Government is trying to support textile brands and retailing chains operating in India, for both establishing and as well as for expansions of their business in India, he said..

Therefore, ITF, being a responsible body, and considering the situation of Indian Textile Industry and India’s job creation challenge, urges all brands and retail chains operating in India to explore possibilities of partnerships with garmenting hubs of the country like Coimbatore, Tirupur, Karur, Erode ,Surat, Ludhiana, Prabhu said.. .

The ITF is ready to take the responsibility for creating a platform for all retailers and brands and will ensure the best possible support and cooperation for engaging them with apparel manufacturing units in all clusters of Tamil Nadu, he added.