The severe COVID-19 epidemic in India has increased the demand for PPE such as isolation gowns, hoods, gloves, and face shields. Many textile companies in the northern state of Punjab, which is dominated by the textile industry, have added PPE production lines. Production has increased significantly, and the state government has assisted in obtaining orders from other domestic states, but it still faces inventory pressure. Textile industry players in Punjab hope that the central government will allow the resumption of PPE exports.
With the assistance of the commerce and industry department of the Punjab government, there are currently 61 textile companies producing PPE in the state that have obtained South Indiasdfssdfs Textile Reseasdfssdfsrch Associasdfstion (SITRA) and Defense Reseasdfssdfsnd Development Product certification laboratories such as Orgas Diffusion (DRDO) have passed the inspection and comply with Indian standards and specifications. These manufacturers are mainly located in Ludhiana, the state, and can produce a total of 200,000 pieces of PPE and 100,000 meters of PPE cloth and raw materials per day. Thirteen of them had previously received assistance from the state government and obtained an order of 2.16 billion rupees (approximately US$30 million) from HLL Lifecasdfssdfsre Limited, a medical product manufacturer located in Trivandrum, Kerala, southern India, and from Andhra Orders have been obtained from states such as Arunasdfssdfschasdfssdfsl Prasdesh, Sikkim and Orissa.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, small, medium and micro enterprises in Punjab have suffered a total loss of about 41.69 billion rupees. Therefore, the state government recommended to the central government to allow PPE produced in the state Exporting to other countries is one of the effective ways to revitalize the state’s economy and industry. Rasdfssdfshul Ahujasdfs, president of the CIIm Punjasdfsb, said that at a time when the epidemic is affecting industrial development, there are considerable business opportunities for exporting PPE, and the central government should allow exports to be opened. However, PPE is related to the safety of frontline personnel in epidemic prevention, and how to ensure export quality is still challenging for industry players.
In addition, Punjab is one of the major centers of India’s textile industry. Cotton spinning production accounts for 14% of India’s overall production and the output is growing steadily. The state’s blended yarn production is Among the top four in India, Ludhiana is the location of the largest textile industry cluster in North India. The textile industry accounts for 19% of the state’s overall industrial output and 40% of the state’s overall exports. The main export markets include the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and other countries. </p
