Indian Textiles Research Articles

KHADI MANUFACTURER OF MARWAR (RAJASTHAN)

It is believed that man first learned how to create string 20 to 30 thousand years ago, by twisting plant fibers together. An Indian textile enjoys a rich heritage and the origin of textile in India traces back to the Indus valley civilization where people handspun cotton for weaving clothes. Rigveda, the earliest of the Veda contains the literary information about textiles and it refers to weaving. Present study was conducted at Marwar region of Rajasthan state. The study was based on the primary data and the necessary data required for the study were collected through questionnaire. 600 respondents were selected for the study. They were students, working and non-working persons. This study covers opinion of both males and females about the use of Khadi fabric and their opinion about Khadi fabric (B. Narayan, 2010). To fulfill the purpose of the study three types of respondents were selected khadi consumers, khadi bhandars and khadi manufacturers. Survey was conducted to collect relvent data for the purpose. Three types of questionnaire (with open and close ended questions ) were developed to obtain data from consumers, manufacturers of khadi fabric and khadi bhandars.

A case study on conservation of textiles in Allahabad museum, Uttar Pradesh

Indian textiles produced since antiquity conveys the history, the culture and tradition of the past. A number of people in our society have immense wealth of rare textile artefacts, collected or inherited over a period of time, not accessible to all interested in this field. Museums are the only means for obtaining an understandable and complete information regarding culture, history, tradition, arts and crafts and various other noteworthy features distinctive to a region. Museums also offer the opportunity to visitors so that they can have a quick look of rarest and bestest artifacts in the world. There are numerous museums in various cities of Uttar Pradesh that have exclusive artifacts, Allahabad Sangrahalaya is one of them. It has an incredibly large collection of objects, ranging from paintings, textiles, coins, sculptures, manuscripts and jewellery. The present study was undertaken to study various types of textile antiquities preserved, display and storage techniques used and conservation and preservation method employed in Allahabad museum of Uttar Pradesh.

Improving Production Efficiency through Subcontracting and Unorganized Indian Textile and Garment Enterprises: An Impact Evaluation

Improving Production Efficiency through Subcontracting and Unorganized Indian Textile and Garment Enterprises: An Impact Evaluation

Investigation of Credit Risk based on Indian Firm Performance

In this paper the author investigates whether technical efficiency is an important ex-ante predictor of business failure. The author uses samples of Indian textiles, wood, computers and related activities and R&D companies to obtain efficiency estimates for individual firms in each industry. These efficiency measures are derived from a directional technology distance function constructed empirically using non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods. Estimating standard probit and logit regression models the author finds that efficiency has significant explanatory power in predicting the likelihood of default over and above the effect of standard financial indicators.

Making the global local? Overseas goods in English rural shops, c.1600–1760

This article draws on probate inventories from 36 villages in four counties to examine the shifting place of overseas goods in the stock of English rural shops. It shows that a range of colonial groceries and Indian textiles were to be found in village shops from the early-seventeenth century, but that their availability varied considerably, as did their relative to the retail business. Whilst they rarely appear to have underpinned the viability of the shop, their early and persistent presence draws the village shop and the rural consumer into the mainstream of consumption and retail transformation.

Indian Textiles at Mozambique Island in the Mid-Eighteenth Century

Building upon the work of scholars writing about Indian textiles and the textile trade of the western Indian Ocean, I examine a combined list of nearly eighty different specific types of Indian cotton cloths that were imported at Mozambique Island in the 1750s. In the absence of physical evidence, I seek first to identify each specific textile using archival and literary sources and then to categorise them according to provenance, design and price.

Complex Strands: Changing Textile Trades in Western Madagascar and the Mozambique Channel in the Nineteenth Century, Evidence from Nosy Be Island

This article examines the textiles trades of the west coast of Madagascar through the commercial relations and connections of Nosy Be with East Africa, the Comoro islands, the Mascarenes, India, French and other European imperial and metropolitan interests. It argues that, despite having been overlooked by historians in favour of Madagascar’s east coast economy centred on Tamatave, the island of Nosy Be in the far north-west of the island provides a critical vantage point from which to study the commercial exchange dynamics centred on a variety of textiles in the nineteenth century, a period of marked upheaval in the western Indian Ocean. Despite competition from European and American cloths — involving state perquisites granted to French textiles — Indian and other regional cloth continued to maintain important markets amongst Malagasy consumers into the early twentieth century.

AN empirical study and analysis of the capital structure & working capital of indian textile industry {with specific reference for the period 2006–07 to 2015–16}

The Indian Textile sector has proven to be one of the major sectors driving the Indian Economy in terms of varied economic factors including employment and exports amongst others. The paper aims to undertake an empirical study of the BSE-listed Indian textile companies' Capital structure and Working capital covering seventy one percent of the market capitalisation. They are considered as two goliath financial elements in the financial statements that drives the existence of an entity. An analysis is done on the trend and driving force of Capital structure and Working capital of the Indian textile Sector. Eight companies were selected on the basis of market capitalisation and their key financials were extracted for a period of ten years i.e. (2006–07 to 2015–16). With the help of the key indicators the sector was analysed which led to various findings about the requirement of fund, preferred source of fund, proportion of Debt to Equity, major component of working capital, prime application of working capital amongst others.

Flaunting It: How the Galleon Trade Made Manila, circa 1571–1800

Manila was designated by Spain as the colonial capital of the Philippine archipelago in 1571. From being a small Muslim settlement, the city was swiftly transformed by the trans-Pacific galleon trade to Acapulco. Manila emerged as one of the greatest and wealthiest entrepots in Southeast Asia, rivaling the Dutch city of Batavia in Indonesia and dominating commerce with America and Europe in both silk and spices. Manila became a magnet to trading ships from China, Japan, Maluku, Malacca, Siam, Cambodia, and Borneo, which arrived laden with an astonishing abundance of luxurious goods. The trade flows of silver and precious Asian merchandise—the bales of Chinese silks, the porcelain, Indian textiles, spices, local wax, honey, and forest products—and the shifting and hybrid populations that supplied labor and diverse expertise lent the city its own special character and texture. Drawing on a range of primary sources—from secular and missionary accounts to architecture and artistic works, including paintings and objects, this essay explores the much less well-studied social and cultural effects of global trade on local contexts, and considers whether Manila was any different from other early modern port cities in the Atlantic and Asian worlds. I discuss a variety of fundamental areas—sartorial fashions and bodily scents, culinary tastes, and architectural innovations—in which imported goods and their consumption affected everyday sensibilities in Manila and beyond.

Indian Textiles and Gum Arabic in the Lower Senegal River: Global Significance of Local Trade and Consumers in the Early Nineteenth Century

Indian Textiles and Gum Arabic in the Lower Senegal River: Global Significance of Local Trade and Consumers in the Early Nineteenth Century

Exports Competitiveness of the Indian Textile Industry during and after ATC

This paper is designed to measure the competitiveness of Indian textile industry in comparison of twelve major players of textile Industry in World. International Market Share and Revealed comparative advantage of Balassa have been applied to measure the competitiveness with some useful techniques such as Compound Annual Growth Rate and Coefficient of Variation. The Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) rev. 3 is used at the two digit level of disaggregation of textile data of the United nations. The paper focuses during and after Agreement on textile and clothing changes in competitiveness and exports potential of Indian textile Industry. The findings reveals that India is most benefitting country after china after elimination of ATC i.e., 1st Jan 2005 and RCA point of view, India must consider the products which have good export potential in the world textile markets.

Globalization and Production Scenario of Indian Textile Industry

The impact of the globalization has been observed on different segments of the Indian Textile Industry from conceiving the idea up to the delivery of world class textile products. The impact was multidimensional and affected the demand, types of fabrics, fashion apparels, development of hi-tech and eco- friendly clothing. The globalization also improved the economic condition of labors and employees of the Indian Textile Industry along with production automation of the industry in a manner that today it is ready to compete with the global textile industry.

Indian Textile Industry and Its Impact on the Environment and Health

Continuous development and automation has improved the production of Indian textile industry. As a result, more and more raw materials demands have adversely affect the environment. In this study the effects of Indian textile industry on environment and human health are reviewed and concluded that textile mechanical process mainly affects the environment of the workplace by the way of producing heavy noise and cotton dust. While fiber formation and chemical processing has vast negative impact on outside world that pollutes land, water, air and emits hazardous byproduct which indirectly promotes acid rain and global warming.

Make in India: A Platform to Indian Handloom Market

Make in India- a program designed and initiated by the government of India to promote India as a global manufacturing destination, facilitate investment, foster innovation, and build best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure. This 'Make in India' campaign covering 25 sectors, including the textiles and garments, is going to become a land mark for Indian Textiles Industry. Handloom being a major sub-sector of Indian Textiles Industry plays a pivotal role in Indian economy, providing direct employment to over 65 lakh persons engage in weaving and allied activities. With almost one fourth of the total textile production and contributing substantially to the export earnings, the handloom remains dominant industrial sector in the country. Handloom is unparalleled in its flexibility and versality, permitting experimentation and encouraging innovation. Innovative weavers with their skillful blending of myths, faiths, symbols and imagery provide the fabric an appealing dynamism. But still handloom continues to be a traditional and hereditary occupation, using traditional methods of production and designs due to lack of exposure, awareness and knowledge about changing technologies, methods and the requirements. Therefore, there is a need to make handloom tradition fashionable by introducing new designs and colour schemes, so that it can find a reference place in global textiles industry. Handloom weavers can make it possible by using 'Make in India' as a platform and at the same time can promote themselves and their innovative products not only in India but in global market also. Keywords: Make in India, Indian Handloom sector, textile, weavers, innovation, marketing strategies

Is the Indian Textile Sector Successful in the Informal Sector? Evidence Based on Cross State Analysis of the Unincorporated Textile Enterprises

Textile sector in the informal/unincorporated sector of India is the second largest employer of men and women. The paper analysis the success of the unincorporated textile sector based on employment generation, number of enterprises, emoluments and gross value addition of enterprises across states of India using unit level survey data. It attempts to compare the 39 states of India based on their success. The unit level data has been sourced from the 67th round National Sample Survey, Ministry of Statistics and Planning, Government of India. The main findings indicate diverse manufacturing under the unincorporated textile sector in India. The findings also present the vast disparity among states in terms of employment generation and success of the sector in different states.

Indicators of financial distress - An empirical study of Indian Textile sector

 AbstractBusinesses across the globe faces challenges to ensure stability, growth and sustainability. Companies have to deal with changes in economic, social, cultural, political and technological environment. Companies failing to do may face financial distress causing default in payment of contractual obligations and erosion of shareholders wealth. In a business scenario where the stakeholders are many viz. shareholders, lenders, employees, government and society at large, protection of the interests of the stakeholders assume prime importance. Company’s management are expected to identify signals that indicate distress and take remedial measures. This paper attempts to identify distress signals in textile sector in India. Textile sector is one of the largest sector in India. However one third of companies in this sector have reported losses for the previous year. This study aims to examine the factors that can differentiate a distressed company from a non- distressed company so that the factors signifying distress can be studied. Listed companies in textile sector incurring continuous losses for three years were selected for the study. Financial ratios were used as variables. Logistic regression was applied to identify the most important factors indicating distress. It was observed that ratios measuring profitability and efficiency were significant in predicting distress. Key words:  Financial distress, distress signals, textile sector, continuous losses, financial ratios

Labor and World Development Through the Lens of Cotton: A Review Essay

Labor and World Development Through the Lens of Cotton: A Review Essay

Design and Development of Twelve-Spindle Charkha by Converting Two Six-Spindle Charkha

The Khadi industry is one of the largest employment generation initiatives in the country. This sector employed about 14.79 lakh people both full time and part time in khadi spinning during 1994. However today, the employment generation has come down to 7 lakh, in 2004.Hence a research has been undertaken to help the khadi spinner to earn a better wage in his rural home itself by redesigning the spinning wheel and adding some more spindles without unduly enlarging the size of the spinning machine. The objectives of the study are clearly defined in the working. The methods to increase the speed of spindle andproduction rates in the charkha spinning machine have been discussed. Here the researcher has conceived idea of redesigning thecharkha on the lines of the spinning machines that are working inlarge textile mills. As the ring frame is built on 6 Spindles per staff length, the researcher has taken 12 spindles so that commercially available parts are cheaper and could be easily fixed on to themachine frame such as flutted rollers, rings, spindles and top arms.The spinning angle and train of wheels to drive the machine have allbeen modified. Addition of spindlesalso contributes to increased production. Knowing the Khadi cost chart rate we could easily calculate the wageearnings per day of the spinner. There is a 105 118 percentageincrease in both production and wage earnings to the spinner on the improved 12 spindle charkha machine.The yarns that were spun on different charkhas which are availablecommercially and compared to the performance of 12 Spindle Charkha for yarn quality. By the present research work, millions of rural women who arein khadi industry can be retained in charkha spinning without anydrudgery and earn a reasonable wage of Rs 174 per day for 8 hours working in improved 12 Spindle Charkha spinning. The yarnproduced from the narrow width spinning charkha with 12 spindles isquite comparable with SITRA norms and could be used for making bed spreads with optimum returns to the weaver also. Elongation percentage of yarn and Hairiness Index,in all these parameters studied, the 12 spindle machine gave good results whichwere comparable to SITRA (South Indian Textile Research Association) norms for yarn quality.

Factors determining social and environmental reporting by Indian textile and apparel firms: a test of legitimacy theory

Purpose– The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors determining the social and environmental reporting (SER) of Indian textile and apparel (TA) firms.Design/methodology/approach– The 2010 annual reports of a sample of top 100 Indian TA firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange were examined to assess the extent of SER. SER was assessed based on the Global Reporting Initiative index applicable to the TA industry. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the determinants of SER.Findings– This study reports a low extent of SER in the annual reports of Indian listed TA firms, with a mean disclosure of 14 per cent. On average, firms reported more extensive environmental information, with a mean disclosure of 18.4 per cent, compared to social information, with a mean disclosure of 10.7 per cent. Most firms reported social information relating to “labour practices and decent work”, while the reporting of information relating to “human rights” was sparse. Overall, the SER patterns provide support for legitimacy theory. Consistent with legitimacy theory expectations, corporate size, brand development and audit committee size are significant factors determining the variation in SER. No significant relationship was found between board independence, level of ownership and SER.Originality/value– There is no existing study specifically on SER by TA firms in India. In fact, there is surprisingly little research on SER in the Indian context in general. Given the dearth in research on corporate social reporting in the Indian context, the study extends prior literature on corporate SER by concentrating on SER of TA firms in an emerging economy. The theoretical contribution of this study is the testing of legitimacy theory in the context of an emerging economy. This study contributes towards practice by delineating the relationship between governance structure and SER, particularly with regard to issues such as child labour. These findings have implications for the future development of reporting standards and regulations in regard to corporate governance in India. The dearth of social reporting by Indian TA firms has implications for foreign purchasers of branded products, as international companies have been implicated in sub-optimal social or environmental practices or incidents.

The impact of international brands and awards on Indian textile and apparel firms’ social disclosure practices

This study empirically investigates the extent of corporate social disclosure (CSD) practices by Indian textile and apparel (TA) listed firms for the 2010-2012 time period. In spite of an upward trend in CSD practices by Indian TA listed firms, the results indicate a consistent low level of such important disclosure practices over the three year period with an overall mean disclosure of 10.44%. The overall low extent of CSD by Indian TA firms and the potential large adverse impact of this sector to the country’s social environment have major implications for future development of social reporting standards. Further analysis reveals that Indian TA listed firms commonly communicate social information relating to ‘labor practices and decent work’ while disclosure of ‘human rights’ is virtually non-existent. The finding may indicate that Indian TA firms place increasing importance in communicating labor practices related information as a possible strategy to alleviate tension amongst stakeholders in order to secure their societal legitimacy. Potential concern arises from noncommunication of social activities and related risks. Poor or non-existent disclosure may lead to questions whether Indian firms and their international brand-name affiliations have been transparent and accountable regarding their production and supply activities. The dearth of social disclosure by Indian TA firms has implications for foreign purchasers of branded products as international companies have been implicated in numerous sub-optimal social practices or incidents, at times leading to fierce criticism. The findings on the significant and positive influence of international brands and the interaction of this variable and international awards obtained on disclosure practices imply that such international exposures may put a higher level of pressure on Indian TA firms to communicate more social information as part of an overall package to better address global concerns on such crucial issues. The affiliation with international brand-name firms perhaps is the ultimate driver for the firms to provide more social information as a response to the growing awareness on such issues of their foreign renowned buyers. Firm characteristics control variables firm size, profitability and year of reporting are positively associated with the extent of CSD whereas CEO duality is negatively associated with the extent of CSD.