Some important facts on Cotton textile industry

India’s first successful modern cotton textile mill was set up in Mumbai in 1854. The Swadeshi Movement and the World Wars saw the growth of the industry due to greater demand.

There was a setback as a result of partition as most of the cotton growing areas went to Pakistan.

At present cotton textile manufacture is the largest organized modern industry in India. The largest numbers of mills are situated in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

India is the third largest exporter of cotton textiles after Japan and U.S.A.

Mumbai-Maharashtra

1. The most important cotton manufacturing centre in India.

2. The rich hinterland and the Black soil or Regur soil help in the growth of raw cotton.

3. It has excellent port facilities to import machinery, long stapled cotton and for the export of finished goods.

4. Mumbai is well connected by road, rail and air to all parts of the country.

5. Cheap power is available from the Tata Hydroelectric System.

6. The humid climate helps in the weaving of cotton yarn.

7. Skilled and unskilled labour is available from the nearby areas.

8. A ready market is available for the finished products in India as well as abroad.

9. Banking facilities are easily available. Besides Mumbai the other centres of the cotton industry are Sholapur, Pune, Kolhapur and Nagpur.

Gujarat-Ahmedabad

1. Gujarat is the second largest producer of cotton textile in India.

2. Ahmedabad is the largest centre as:

(a) Cotton is readily available.

(b) It has a humid climate ideal for spinning of cotton thread.

(c) It has the advantage of free-trade zonr. (Kandla port).

(d) There is production of cheap cloth which is in great demand among the poor masses of India,

(e) Cheap hydroelectric power is easily available.

The other important centres of Gujarat are Vadodara, Surat and Porbandar, etc.

Tamil Nadu

1. Tamil Nadu is an important cotton textile producing state (Manchester of South India).

2. Mills here are small in size and therefore production is less.

3. The important centres are Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchchirapalli and Ramanatha- puram.

4. Most of them manufacture yarn for the handloom industry.

West Bengal

1. Kolkata is the most important textile centre of West Bengal because:

(а) Water is available from the River Hoogly for bleaching and dying.

(b) It has a humid climate which helps in weaving.

2. Coal is obtained from Raniganj.

3. Port facilities are available.

4. Cheap and abundant labour is easily available from the neighboring states.

5. The only disadvantage is that the raw material has to be brought from the Deccan Plateau.

Uttar Pradesh

1. The industry is concentrated along the western part of U.P.

2. Kanpur is the largest centre.

3. Other centres are Moradabad, Lucknow, Modinagar and Agra.

Problems of the Cotton Textile Industry

1. Shortage of Raw Material

India has to depend on imported long stapled cotton from Egypt and U.S.A. which is very expensive.

2. Outdated Machinery

There is low productivity as the machinery is outdated and needs to be replaced. This leads to inefficient units.

3. Stiff Competition

There is stiff competition from synthetic fibres such as rayon, terylene, nylon, polyester, etc.

4. Poor Power Supply

Due to rise in population, the problem of power supply has become severe and has brought about losses.