A Brilliant Prospect

Kashmira Mirza in conversation with Dr Kavita Gupta, IAS, Textiles Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.

- Kashmira Mirza

YOU WENT AROUND THE FAIR ARENA. WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ABOUT THIS YEAR’S FAIR? HOW DO YOU THINK THE NGF WOULD BENEFIT THE APPAREL INDUSTRY?

Well, the fair has increased in its size compared to last year by 25 per cent. There were about 1005 domestic brands exhibiting in the fair this year. It’s a huge fair, very well organised definitely. The fair had separate arenas, which were well segmented and categorised under the broader segments of menswear, womenswear and kidswear. The most encouraging part of the NGF’s every year is of course, the choice of brands, which fulfils the requirement of every strata of visitors and the overall vision presented, does provide for a holistic encouraging scene of the Indian apparel industry. The domestic apparel market is a very important link, not just for the Indian sellers but is also equally important for the entire globe, and specifically for countries that are looking at our domestic market. Our ready made market is our strength and this fair gives us an excellent opportunity to develop this strength through B2B interactions. A lot of business is going to be generated post the fair riding on the appealing business environment of the exhibition. The fair, as a platform also helps people to gain confidence, and look closely into their strengths and weaknesses.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THE GST SLABS FOR THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY?