A consulting firm is of the opinion that the Indian garment sector has the potential to hike its productivity by 15 percent which amounts to US $7.8 billion.

“The current value of clothing produced in India is $52 billion, of which share of domestic market is $35 billion and $17 billion comes from exports,” Dr. Rajesh Bheda, MD of Rajesh Bheda Consultants said.

“We are of the firm belief that the Indian clothing production sector has immediately available improvement potential of 15 percent which can be realised within one year,” Dr. Bheda added.

“This means the industry as a whole has a productivity improvement potential worth $7.8 billion which can be achieved within a period of 12 months,” he observed.

As per Dr. Bheda, low productivity is one of the major reasons for not being able to achieve full potential in garment manufacturing.

Citing statistics, he added that the average efficiency level in Indian apparel manufacturing is projected at 45-50 percent as against 60-65 percent in China and Vietnam.

Dr. Bheda further said that they have been able to achieve productivity improvements of between 10 to 25 percent in various clothing factories.

This has been achieved through upkilling initiatives for experienced workers using our ‘Low Performer Improvement’ methodology.

“This has resulted in an average 20 percent reduction in process time of individual workers leading to increased worker productivity in 14 Indian factories,” Dr. Bheda stated.

Dr. Bheda stressed on importance of producers in implementing best practices in industrial engineering, human resource management and quality systems.

Dr. Bheda observed that the Indian garment sector is focusing on modernising and starting new manufacturing plants, while the emphasis should be on boosting productivity in current factories.

Indian Apparel.