ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04

77

The woollen industry in the country

is small in size; however it is widely

scattered. It is basically located in

the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan,

U.P., Maharashtra and Gujarat. Forty per-

cent of the woollen units are located in

CHAPTER-VII

WOOLLEN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Table 7.1

The woollen industry presents the following scenario:

(a) Total number of registered units 718

(b) Total number of persons employed in woolen industry 12 lakh (approx)

(c) Total exports (excluding handmade carpets, rugs, durries, etc.)

2001-02 Rs.1379 crore

2002-03 Rs.1289 crore

2003-04 Rs.1513.29 crore

Source: DGCI&S, Kolkata (April-Feb., 2004)

(d) Total import of raw wool

2001-02 72.74 mn kg

2002-03 73.93 mn kg

2003-04 75.24 mn kg

Source: DGCI&S, Kolkata (April-Feb., 2004)

(e) Total import of woolen & cotton rags

2001-02 68.18 mn kg

2002-03 52.17 mn kg

2003-04 70.37 mn kg

Source: DGCI&S, Kolkata (April-Feb., 2004)

Punjab, 27% in Haryana, 10% in

Rajasthan, while the rest of the States ac-

count for the remaining 23% of the units.

A few of the larger units are located in

Maharashtra, Punjab, U.P., Gujarat and

West Bengal.

The Woollen Industry in India broadly falls

under two sectors:

A. Organized Sector:

i) Composite Mills

ii) Combing Units

iii) Worsted and Non-worsted Spinning

Units

iv) Machine-made Carpet

Manufacturing Units

B. Decentralized Sector:

i) Hosiery and Knitting

MINISTRY OF TEXTILES

78

ii) Powerloom

iii) Hand-knotted Carpets, Druggets

and Namdahas

iv) Independent Dyeing Processing

Houses

Since indigenous production of fine qual-

ity wool required by the organized mills and

the decentralized hosiery sector is very lim-

ited, India depends largely on import, Aus-

tralia being the major supplier. New-Zea-

land wool, which is rich in lustre is being

imported mainly for carpet sector for

blending it with indigenous wool. Similarly,

for the shoddy sector, import of pre-muti-

lated woollen/synthetic rags is also al-

lowed under OGL.

Indigenous Production:

The production of indigenous raw wool in

the country during the last three years has

been as under:

Table 7.2

Year Quantity in million kg

1999-2000 47.90*

2000-2001 49.20*

2001-2002 50.70**

2002-2003 52.11(Estimated)

* Provisional

** Anticipated

(Source: Department of Animal Husbandry)

Table 7.3

Installed Capacity as on 31.03.03:

i) a) Wool Combing. 29.28 Mn kg

b) Synthetic Fibre Combing 3.57 Mn kg

ii) Worsted Spindles (No.) 6.04 lakh

iii) Non-Worsted Spindles (No.) 4.37 lakh

iv) Powerloom (No.) 7228(Approx) (decentralized sector)

v) Machine made carpet sector. 8.10 lakh Sq. Mtr., 2.27 Mn kg

Capacity permitted by way of Information Memorandum and Letter of Intent as well as for 100%

EOU from 1/04/2003 to 30/09/2003.

(i) Details of Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM) received from Secretariat

for Industrial Assistance (SIA) during 1st April, 2003-30th September, 2003:

Table 7.4

Sr.No. Month Nos. Items Annual Capacity

1. — 2 Woollen Carpets 24,000 sq.mtr

2. June 1 Woollen Shawls 38,000 kg

3. June 1 Polycoster Blended Yarn 639 M.Ton

4. July 1 Weaving Woollen Fabrics 3,00,000 mtr

5. July 1 Woollen Yarn 7,00,000 kg

6. July 1 Cotton & Woollen carpets 25,000 sq. mtr

7. July 1 Manufacture of shawls on weaving machine 12,000 sq. mtr

8. —— 1 Blanket & Woollen blended except Knitting 1,50,000 nos.

ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04

79

CENTRAL WOOL

DEVELOPMENT BOARD,

JODHPUR

The Central Wool Development Board

(CWDB), Jodhpur, constituted by the Gov-

ernment of India, Ministry of Textiles in 1987

and supported by it with grants in aid to

promote growth and development of wool

and woollens, continued to pursue its ob-

jectives through various activities like mar-

ket intelligence, improvement of wool and

woollens, price stabilization, and quality

control.

At the end of the 9th Five Year Plan period,

the CWDB undertook Zero Based Budg-

eting exercise in respect of the 12 schemes

it was administering in the 8th and 9th Plans

for development of wool viz. (i) Integrated

Sheep & Wool Development Project (ii) An-

gora Rabbit/Pashmina Development Pro-

gramme under UNDP (CCF-I); (iii) Inte-

grated Angora Rabbit Development

Project; (iv) Machine Shearing-cum-Train-

ing Project; (v) Mini Wool Scouring Plant;

(vi) Wool Testing Centre; (vii) Industrial

Service Centre; (viii) Weaving & Design-

ing Training Centre, Kullu (H.P.); (ix) Mar-

ket Intelligence Network; (x) Area Based

Project for Wool & Woollens Development;

(xi) Human Resource Development Pro-

gramme; and (xii) Woollen Expo. It de-

cided to merge these into 5 schemes in

the 1st year of the 10th Plan (2002-03), and

simultaneously, in discussion with the

States, to design a larger programme with

specific targets, greater flexibility in imple-

mentation and greater emphasis on the

marketing of wool. This programme ini-

tially conceived as a Technology Mission

for Wool was approved in consultation with

the Planning Commission as the Inte-

grated Wool Improvement Programme

(ii) Details of Industrial Licence from SIA, New Delhi for the period of 1st April, 2003 to

31st March, 2004:

Table 7.5

Sr.No. Nos. Items Annual capacity

1. 1 Polyester Blended Yarn 639 M. tonnes

Estimated production of woollen items (Quantity in million)

Item Unit 97-98 98-99 99-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03

Worsted Yarn (Kg.) 42.0 44.0 45.00 43.0 44.00 44.00

Woollen & Shoddy

Yarn (Kg.) 63.5 58.0 58.0 60.0 59.0 58.00

Worsted wearable

Fabric (L in Mtrs.) 66.0 68.0 68.0 64.0 65.00 66.00

Knitted Hosiery

Goods (Kg.) 13.5 14.0 14.0 14.0 14.00 13.00

Non-worsted

Fabric (L in Mtrs.) 17.0 15.0 16.0 18.0 18.00 17.00

(Source: Indian Woollen Mills Federation, Mumbai).

MINISTRY OF TEXTILES

80

(IWIP), with a budget of Rs.35 Crore for

the period 2003-04 to 2006-07. The IWIP

has two main components i.e. Improve-

ment of Wool Fibre and Quality Process-

ing of Wool. It is being implemented as a

fully funded Centrally Sponsored Scheme

since July 2003.

For the year 2003-04, a sum of Rs. 667

lakh was allocated to the Board for its vari-

ous schemes and programmes. This allo-

cation included provision of Rs. 600 lakh

for Plan Schemes and Rs.67 lakh for Non

Plan. The Board utilized Rs.610 lakh on

Plan side on the implementation of its vari-

ous schemes and projects and Rs. 60.23

lakh on Non-Plan side on establishment

and other administrative expenditures in

the year of 2003-04.

An additional amount of Rs.400 lakh was

also allocated to the CWDB for 2003-04

to implement the Special Package for the

State of Jammu & Kashmir for the devel-

opment of sheep, wool and Pashmina. It

has been designed in line with the IWIP,

with components for genetic improvement,

purchase of cross breed rams, health cov-

erage, product development, supplemen-

tary nutrition, strengthening of extension

services and grading centres, publicity, in-

formation, training etc. The Board incurred

an expenditure of Rs.390 lakh in 2003-04.

The Board has entered into an arrange-

ment with the NIRD for a concurrent evalu-

ation of its schemes. The NIRD will make

field visits to assess and understand the

issues in implementation, and hold quar-

terly workshops to give feedback as well

as suggestions for correctives that need

to be made in the delivery as well as the

guidelines of the projects. The Concur-

rent Evaluation Exercise will run parallel

with the project and will cost the CWDB

approximately Rs. 49 lakh for 4 years.

The main features of the IWIP alongwith

funds allocated and expenditure made in

the year 2003-04 are given below:-

A) IMPROVEMENT OF WOOL

FIBRE

(1) Sheep and Wool Improvement

Scheme: Under the Sheep & Wool Im-

provement Scheme (SWIS) an integrated

approach has been adopted for improve-

ment of wool production and wool quality

by improving the stock, health and care of

the sheep, and setting up a system of mar-

keting that will recognize and reward qual-

ity and thereby encourage the producer

to intensify his inputs into sheep breeding

and sheep rearing. A provision of Rs.263

lakh was made for 2003-04 to cover 18

lakh sheep. The Board was able to spend

all funds available during the year.

(2) Development of Speciality

Fibres:

(i) Development of Pashmina: The

Pashmina Development Project started

under the UNDP assisted programme in

2001 in Ladakh, is proposed to be

strengthened in the 10th Plan by adopting

an integrated and intensive approach to

(i) provide necessary inputs for breed

improvement, training, health care and

nutritional supplementation for Pashmina

goat breeding and development;

ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04

81

(ii) stabilize marketing arrangements

through cooperatives/federations of

Pashmina wool producers; (iii) establish

means for early stages of processing

within the region and its operation by wool

producers’ federations for first stage value

addition; and (iv) increase the income from

wool of the goat rearers and sustain their

interest in this activity as a reliable means

of livelihood. A provision of Rs.60.75 lakh

was made for 2003-04 to cover 500

families, which was spent entirely.

(ii) Angora Wool Development: Look-

ing to the economic returns from proc-

essed Angora fibre and the potential for

employment generation in remote hilly

areas, the efforts to develop Angora dur-

ing 10th Plan is proposed to be continued

by adopting the integrated approach and

strategy of the UNDP assisted Fibres &

Handicraft Programme (FHAP) project to

promote Angora development as a sus-

tainable livelihood activity. The Board was

able to spend Rs 1.42 lakh in the year

2003-04.

(3) Support Services:

(i) Marketing and Promotional

Activities: The scheme supports activities

such as organizing seminars and

workshops, studies; publishing a quarterly

news magazine “Wool Ways”, literature

and statistics on wool sector, organizing

fairs and sale-cum-exhibitions for rural

wool weavers; and conducting publicity

campaigns to promote utilization of wool

and development of sheep husbandry

practices. Woollen Expos would be

organized to provide marketing support for

woollen products and to help widen

outreach to buyers and open new

marketing avenues for woollen products

of the wool cottage industry is an important

component. An expenditure of Rs 27.12

lakh was incurred in 2003-04 under these

activities.

(ii) Marketing Intelligence Network (MIN):

The MIN already set up by the CWDB was

strengthened to build up reliable informa-

tion system for collection of information of

prevailing market rates of wool and yarn,

latest trends and transactions of wool and

woollen products to serve the purpose of

the primary and most needed link in the

wool processing chain, the wool produc-

ers. The information gathered from the

main Mandis is relayed to the CWDB, the

Departments of Sheep and Animal Hus-

bandry, and thence to dissemination

sources like local language dailies, and

Rs. 0.81 lakh was spent on this activity in

the year 2003-04.

(iii) Strengthening of Central Wool De-

velopment Board: The CWDB is far too

slim to take the weight of the IWIP and

make an effective job of it. The Board’s

manpower strength is proposed to be

augmented through short-term contracts

and consultancies. However no funds

were spent on this activity in the year

2003-04.

(iv) Research, Consultancies, Studies,

Training & Monitoring/Evaluation of

schemes: The R&D activities concentrate

on improvement in the breed of Indian

sheep in order to improve its wool yield

and wool quality by improving yield and

micron of the apparel grade found in the

MINISTRY OF TEXTILES

82

Northern Temperate region; increasing the

quantity of the best known kind of carpet

grade wool in the country found on the

back of the Magra, Jaisalmeri and Bikaneri

sheep; and decreasing the micron of and

increase the percentage of white wool in

the Deccani breed. Projects are given to

research organizations in the country for

this purpose. Rs. 15.39 lakh was spent on

these activities during 2003-2004.

(B) QUALITY PROCESSING

OF WOOL

(i) Technical and Consultancy Serv-

ices: The sector has a dearth of manage-

rial and technical personnel, even within

Government, only selective service cen-

tres and quality testing centres of the Tex-

tile Commissioner’s Office or the Textiles

Committee have manpower with woollen

industry experience. This problem is pro-

posed to be tackled by both short and long

term solutions. In the short term, given the

shortage of technically trained manpower,

an innovative approach has been adopted

to bridge the gap in expertise, till, in the

long term, adequate facilities are set up

and a turnout of trained manpower is

achieved.

(ii) Human Resource Development: In

order to achieve sustainability and quality

assurance by developing a large enough

pool of human resource that is acquainted

with and trained in state-of-the-art tech-

nologies, and instilled with the attitudes

Shearing of sheep

ANNUAL REPORT 2003-04

83

required for quality output, a long term plan

is required for (i) reviewing curricula and

syllabi of technical training institutes and

colleges for wool content (ii) strengthen-

ing capabilities of teachers and increas-

ing the specialization of teachers in this

sphere; (iii) starting in-service training, vir-

tual and real, for all levels of personnel in

the wool industry; and (iv) developing an

institute as a Centre for Excellence in Wool

and a nodal body for managing this work.

This effort to do this is being made in close

consultation with Australia, as part of the

India Australia Joint Business Group on

Natural Fibres and Textiles (JBG).

(iii) Common Facility Centres:

a) The Carpet Finishing Centres would

promote medium and high-knotted

woollen carpets and are proposed

to be set up in 3 major clusters of

the carpet industry viz. Jaipur,

Bhadoi and Srinagar in participation

with the industry through the carpet

associations with emphasis on

improving the dyeing techniques

and technology and the washing

and drying processes.

b) The Shawl Finishing Centres are

proposed to be set up in order to

sustain increase in the export of

shawls. The quality of shawls will

be upgraded by improvement in the

quality of yarn as well as finishing of

shawls. During the year approval to

a SFC in Ludhiana was given.

(iv) Research, Development and

Studies:

a) Research & Development - In order

to create innovative blends of wool

in combination with jute, cotton,

polyester, silk and flax for innovative

fabrics and textures for furnishings,

made ups and apparels in a

technically correct manner with an

understanding of their

characteristics, of durability and

function for their use, R&D activities

are proposed to be taken up.

Carpet grade wool would require

R&D support for improvement in the

quality of yarn with a special

emphasis on yarn making and

dyeing, and machine improvement

and innovation. R&D into effluents

treatment and pollution control

would also be encouraged.

b) Studies - Research and data

support that does not require

laboratory facilities but is necessary

for the industry to improve its

efficiency, market response and

value addition are proposed to be

taken up through well established

organizations and institutes of

management and research to

support the long felt needs of the

industry.

Under the Quality Processing of Wool

component of the IWIP, Rs 6.85 lakh was

spent during the year 2003-04.