17th February 2025; New Delhi: Apparel Exporters thank Prime Minister Hon’ble Shri Narendra Modi for his encouraging and inspiring speech during the ‘Textiles Samvad’ at Bharat Tex 2025 yesterday at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

Commenting on the Prime Minister's speech Shri Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman AEPC stated that, “On behalf of the garment industry we pledge to make a sincere and relentless effort in working towards the Prime Minister’s vision to make India a developed nation by 2027. Our Industry hails the government’s support to our employment intensive sector, especially  empowering the MSMEs sector and women in particular.” Almost 80% of the garment manufacturer exporters are MSME’s and 80% of our workforce comprises of women” he added.

Shri Sekhri also wholeheartedly supports the Honble Prime Minister's call for India to lead the world in adopting the vision of Fashion for Environment and Empowerment. “The garment industry is actively and extensively embracing sustainable practices and waste management through recycling. We are far ahead of many of the developed countries in this regard. It is built into our DNA”

Within a short span of two years, Bharat Tex has become a strong platform for the active engagement of stakeholders of the entire value chain of textiles, forging new collaborations and partnership between upstream and downstream industries”, Chairman AEPC noted.

The latest support through the Union Budget 2025-26 has also brought the labor- intensive MSME export sector in focus for government- guaranteed credit support from financial institutions  Also, a mission to negotiate the tariff and non- tariff barriers and review of financial regulations facilitating ease of doing business has laid a strong foundation for aspirational growth.”

On Prime Minister’s call for skill development Shri Sekhri said, “Prime Minister interacted with many women workers who have climbed the socio- economic ladder by their skill acquisition via basic training and hard work.”

On the credit woes of MSMEs sector Hon’ble appeals to banks to consider for priority lending for capacity augmentation is hailed by the entire industry, Chairman AEPC noted.

We accept the Prime Minister's suggestion for forging tie-ups with the institutions of repute like IIT for fostering innovation and start-ups ecosystem,  Shri Sekhri informed.