The two-day Texsummit 2007, which was held during August 31-Septemper 1 at the Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi was successful in highlighting both the positive and negative aspects of the country's textile industry.

Attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leading of Government officials and industry bigwigs, the conference deliberated over the Indian textile sector.

The textiles sector has grown phenomenally since the phasing out of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) since January 1, 2005 with the industry being able to generate considerable employment and promote exports and improve its performance significantly.

Secondly, the country's clothing and textile exports to US and the EU, which together account for about two-thirds of India's total textile and clothing exports, recorded a growth of 8% and 14% respectively in 2006 compared to previous years performance. The summit stated that a 9%-10% export growth is expected in the next 2-3 years.

The FTAs and other trade agreements have opened a window of opportunity for the country on one hand, while caps on Chinese exports have given a chance to Indian exporters to boost their revenue, on the other.

The country also witnessed a strong cotton output in the current season and hopes to see bigger turnovers in the years to come. Yet another point underlined was the advent of technical textiles, which has opened up new avenues.