Coimbatore : Textile Association of India (TAI) on Saturday honoured two leading personalities in the textile industry with life time achievement award for their contribution to the growth of the industry. Premier Mills Chairman R Jagadish Chandran was presented with the Life Time Achievement Award for his services to the industry, while Chairman and Managing Director Lakshmi Machine Works Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu was given the Industrial Excellence Award for his contribution to the industry, particularly in the field of machinery.

Presenting the award at the two-day 74th All India Textile Conference on ‘Global Textiles the Way Forward’, TAI president TK Sengupta said the association had some specific objectives, including promoting the use of scientific knowledge in textiles from fibre to garment and to implement programmes of continued education in textile technology management.

Thiagarajar Mills Managing Director Karumuthu T Kannan said there was the urgent need for an institute to impart training to textile managers, as the industry was not getting textile graduates who preferred other jobs.

Industrial bodies like CII, Southern India Mills Association and South India Textile Research Association should take lead to start such an institute, he said.

Tirupur Exportters’ Association president Raja M Shanmugham said the knitwear hub of India Tirupur, after struggling for the last few years clocked Rs 45,000 crore business last year and proposed to touch Rs 1 lakh crore by 2022, if not the targeted 2020.