Textile sector can potentially create 45 to 50 per cent of direct jobs in the rural India and be the driving force behind Skill India and Make in India initiatives, textiles secretary S. K. Panda has said.

Panda was speaking at the Indian Cotton Conference 2015, organised by Indian Cotton Association Limited (ICAL) in Gurgaon and co-hosted by Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) on the topic of ‘Dynamics of Make in India’.

Textiles commissioner, Kavita Gupta who was also present suggested for branding Indian cotton against the world labels and emphasised on technical R&D needed to increase productivity. She pointed out that the average cotton productivity in India is 528 kg/hectare against 2,196 kg/hectare in Australia and 963 kg/hectare in the US.

Around 1,000 people including representatives from 18 countries attended the conference.

HS Cheema, president NITMA, highlighted China’s decision to stop cotton imports and suggested that the government should provide direct subsidy to the farmers.

Mahesh Sharda, president ICAL and representatives from Switzerland, Vietnam, Singapore, Bangladesh and China were among those who addressed the conference.