The crude oil prices that has nosedived from the highs of $ 110 per barrel in June 2014 is expected to pump in USD 1.4 trillon in to the Indian economy, said Rajen Udeshi, president (polyester chain), Reliance Industries while addressing an event at Gandhinagar on Wednesday. "Today, this money is lying with the government and the oil companies. I think it will soon come in to the system and will change the purchasing power of the people," said Udeshi at the inaugural function of a 3-day pre-Vibrant Gujarat summit titled: India-Opportunities for Global Investment in Textiles. Around June 2014, India was importing crude at over $ 110 per barrel. Today the prices of brent crude stand around $ 65. This dip in prices, Udeshi felt, will benefit the Indian economy. "The buying habits of people has already changed. From a single pair of cloth, today a person wears 3-4 pairs during the day. One for a morning jog, office wear, evening dress and a party wear," he said while predicting a huge growth in polyester fabric in the near future. Meanwhile, experts from the textile world who had gathered for the event rued the "low credibility" that the textile sector has among lending institutions. "As an industry, the credibility of the textile sector within the financial world in India is very low," said Hrishikesh Mafatlal, chairman and chief executive, Arvind Mafatlal Group of Companies. According to Mafatlal, the share of funding from both the private and public sector banks was very low as far as the textile sector was concerned. "There is a need to focus energies on product development and innovation," he remarked. Giving reasons for the low attractiveness of the textile industry among investors, Sunil Singhania, CIO (Equity Investments), Reliance Mutual Fund said, "In the last 50-70 years, very few industries in the textile sector have created value." He gave the example of Bangalore-based Page Industries as one of the few Indian companies who has created a lot of value in manufacturing innerwear and leisurewear in the country. "Even if one Indian spends only Rs 10,000 on his clothes every year, India is easily a Rs 10 lakh crore market. Most of the companies have failed to tap this local market," he said. S Uma Shanmukhi, DGM (SME) State Bank of India minced no words when she pointed out how her bank has maintained a "neutral" outlook for the industry. "We are moderately negative on 100 percent export oriented units in the garment industry and moderately positive on the technical textiles," Shanmukhi said at the event. Meanwhile, Ahmedabad-based Sintex Industries was more upbeat about the new textile policy of Gujarat. "We have been in this (textile) business for the past 90 years. We used to have a small role; we were largely a boutique manufacturer. But after the state government announced a new textile policy we decided to set up a Rs 5500 crore spinning and weaving unit near to the port at Pipavav," said Amit Patel, managing director of Sintex Industries. "The unit will employ about 7000 people, 40-50 percent of whom will be women," Patel said adding that the investments have been planned keeping a 10-15 year horizon in mind. The first phase of the project will be commissioned by March 2015.
