On January 27, 2021 The Textile Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with M/s. Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan through video conferencing to increase export of Textile and Apparel (T&A) to the Japan market.
Objective
To provide the necessary support to the textile’s trade and industry to ensure the quality required by Japanese buyers through testing, Inspection & Conformity Assessment, etc.,
Key People
The signing ceremony was presided over by Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister of Textiles on behalf of India and by His Excellency Mr. Yasumasa Nagasaka, Hon’ble State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Govt. of Japan.
Reason Behind MoU
i.In 2011, India and Japan signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), among others to facilitate the import of garments from India to Japan at zero duty.
ii.Even after this agreement, both countries’ growth in the T & A Sector has been moderate.
Points to Recall:
The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 2nd September, 2020 gave approval to the organisations to sign MoU.
Gist about the MoU:
i.Provisions:
- Both the parties have agreed to share and exchange relevant technical information and documentation on a regular basis
- They have also decided to accomplish activities that are related to standards, quality assurance norms, joint research projects on testing, development of user friendly tools for dissemination of data to the industry
- In addition to this, they have decided to facilitate sourcing across the Textiles Value Chain (TVC) from both the countries.
ii.Benefits:
The MoU is expected to strengthen the bilateral trade by enhancing India’s export of Textile and Apparels (T&A) to Japan.
Statistics Related to T&A Products
i.In 2019, Japan was the 3rd largest market for T&A products in the world.
ii.It ranked 21st as exporter of T&A products to the world in 2019 with US $ 7.75 billion of export during 2019.
iii.During 2019, India was the sixth largest exporter of T&A to the world and has a presence in the entire Textile Value Chain (TVC).
Recent Related News:
On September 30, 2020 Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani addressed the inaugural session of ‘India- Bangladesh Virtual Conference on Textiles and Apparel Sector’ organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of commerce and Industry (FFBCCI).
About Textile Committee:
Established– 1963 by Textiles Committee Act, 1963
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
About M/s. Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre:
HeadQuarters– Tokyo, Japan
President– Nobuhiro Komada
About Ministry of Textiles:
Union Minister- SmritiZubinIrani(Constituency- Amethi, Uttar Pradesh)
