Surat Economy
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Sari industry
2023
Yagnesh Mehta, June 11, 2023: The Times of India
Supermodel Gigi Hadid broke the internet when she walked the pink carpet at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai in an ivory-and-gold chikankari sari. And as you read this, a four-monthlong ‘Offbeat Sari’ exhibition is on at the Design Museum in London. In India, though, the sari’s popularity as everyday wear is sliding, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas.
Anjali Rana last bought a sari for herself 14 years ago. “I wore saris for 35 years, but now I am more comfortable in salwar kurtas since they fully cover the body and allow me ease of movement,” says the 64-yearold teacher from Bhuj. “I wear the sari only on Diwali or other important occasions. I am more comfortable in salwar kameez, especially during summer,” says Priti Sompura, a 53-year-old housewife from Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Sales have dipped even in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where women have traditionally worn saris. And this trend has had an impact on Surat, the biggest man-made fabric hub of India that is equipped to make 1. 8 crore metres of sari fabric every day.
A Business Unravels
“A decade ago, around 80% of the textiles manufactured in Surat city were used for making saris, which has now reduced to 40%,” says Ashok Jirawala, president of Federation of Gujarat Weaver Welfare Associations.
Surat’s mills have the capacity to make up to 4. 5 crore metres of cloth of different types daily. A major chunk of its greige fabric (that has not been bleached or dyed) used to be turned into saris. But now, more fabric is being used for garments like kurtis, salwar suits, lehengas and nightwear.
The change is reflected in revenues also. Narendra Saboo, president of Surat Mercantile Association, says sari manufacturing accounts for only a quarter of Surat’s Rs 80,000-crore textile industry. This is partly because the fall in demand has gradually reduced prices of saris. Some saris sell for as little as Rs 40 apiece in Surat.
What Women Want
This seismic shift has resulted from women’s changing preferences. “Girls prefer jeans and t-shirts. Women up to 35 years of age prefer wearing kurtis and leggings, while those above 35 find the salwar kameez more appealing,” says Champalal Bothra, general secretary of Federation Of Surat Textile Traders Association. Only a small section of women now buy saris as their daily wear, he adds.
Nobody knows this better than the roughly 70,000 textile traders who operate in Surat, selling dress materials, kurtis, salwar suits and lehengas, inaddition to saris. Many also have online stores. They say while urban women had made the switch to kurtis and leggings long ago, the changing clothing habits of rural women have been driving down sari sales. Chetan Bharucha, head of SASCMA Fashion Design & Apparel Training Centre, says the shift is a nod to practicality. Kurtis and leggings are more comfortable than saris, and easier to work in, he explains, adding, “The preference for readymade garments and their online availability arethe other factors pushing the sari out of everyday use. ”
Bothra agrees people prefer buying readymade garments online because saris “still involve stitching after they are bought”.
‘20 Processing Houses Shut’
As the demand for saris falls, businesses that turn raw textile into saris have taken a hit. “In 2022-23, at least 20 such processing houses closed,” says Jitendra Vakharia, president of South Gujarat Textile Processors Association. Where the sale of one sari moves about 8m of cloth, 2. 5m to 3m of cloth is enough for a salwar suit. “With a 6m sari, a customer buys a 0. 75m blouse piece and 1. 5m of cloth for the inner skirt,” explains Vakharia, adding that the per person use of fabric is less than half of what it used to be some years ago.
Rajkot Hub Also Feels Tremors
Jetpur near Rajkot was known for its cotton saris before it diversified into making dress materials some years ago. It has more than 1,400 units that produce 3 crore metres of cloth per month, and supply it to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra, besides other states. However, with denims becoming popular among semi-urban and rural women, sales of Jetpur’s dress materials are also down. Haresh Bhuva, a leading sari manufacturer in the Dhareshwar GIDC area of Jetpur, says, “The demand for saris and dress materials has gone down by 25-30% in the last couple of years. The units that worked three shifts now work only one or two. We had a good market for gowns and dress materials in African countries, but even there women prefer jeans now. It has affected our exports. ”
Inputs by Nimesh Khakhariya and Prashant Rupera
Stent manufacturing
2015
The Times of India, Jun 15 2015
Melvyn ReggieThomas
Diamond hub Surat is now a major player in the cardiac stent market. The city , famed for its Rs 90,000crore diamond industry , has emerged as the biggest manufacturer of cardiac stents in India. Nine of the 11 Indian companies manufacturing stents -tiny tubes that make blood flow through choked arteries -are based in Surat and neighbouring Vapi. There is a reason for it: the laser technology that revolutionized diamond cutting has been the lifeblood of the stent industry .
South Gujarat's companies have captured 30% market share in the Indian coronary stent mar ket, valued at over $400 million, roughly Rs 2,500 crore. Overall, Indian compa nies enjoy 40% share as foreign players are fast ceding ground due to pricing -domestic stents cost just half.
“We pioneered the use of laser in diamond cutting in 1992,“ said Ganesh Sabat, the chief executive officer of Sa hajanand Medical Technologies (SMT). The parent company , which still makes diamond cutting equipment, set up the arm for making stents in the year 2000. Its success, in a market which was entirely dependent on imports, brought in other players like Meril Life Sciences and Heart Beat Interventions who have made it big.
Cardiac stents are made of stainless steel or an alloy with co steel or an alloy with co balt and chromium. The process requires the sa me equipment and skill sets as diamonds. In fact, stent making requires mu-ch lesser intensity of laser fire than diamonds.
It requires a laser to drill a hole with a diameter of 2.25 to 4.5 mm and length of 8 to 48 mm. of 8 to 48 mm.
Ahmedabad-based cardiologist, Dr Sameer Dani, who has been using Surat-made stents for a decade, said: “Over the years, the quality of local stents has improved vastly .“
Dr Tejas Patel, a Padmashri awardee, said he only uses stents that are approved for use in the US and Europe.“But if low-cost stents made locally can assure long-term efficacy and quality , there is a huge market here,“ he said.
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Surat Economy
