India ITME Society hosted a high-profile global networking event titled “Fabricating the Future of Textile Industry – From Heritage to High-Tech” on October 29, 2025, in Singapore, aligning with the ongoing CITME+ASIA exhibition. The event brought together 183 international delegates representing government ministries, global industry associations, leading machinery manufacturers, technocrats, and media—including key representation from Bangladesh.
Held shortly after Diwali festivities, the India Business Evening served as a strategic platform to promote partnerships, technology sourcing, trade alliances, and manufacturing joint ventures between India and major textile-producing nations. Delegates attended from the USA, UK, China, Sweden, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkiye, Germany and Singapore, signalling rising global interest in India’s textile and textile machinery landscape.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Rohit Kansal (IAS), Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, India, highlighted India’s emergence as one of the top global hubs for weaving and knitting machinery installations. With India’s domestic market expanding rapidly—driven by 1.4 billion consumers—the country presents extensive opportunities for machinery investments, technology transfer, and capacity expansion.
Under his leadership, Indian officials held strategic meetings with representatives from BTMA (UK), TAMI (Taiwan), ITMF, TEMSAD (Turkiye), TMAS (Sweden), CTMA (China), and other influential organizations. The discussions aimed at enhancing technical cooperation and promoting India as a long-term partner in global textile value chains.
H.E. Dr. Shilpak Ambule (IFS), High Commissioner of India to Singapore, emphasized Singapore’s role as India’s 6th largest trade partner globally and the biggest within ASEAN. He noted that India–Singapore textile relations are deeply complementary—India as a major garment producer and Singapore as a distribution and innovation hub for global brands.
Representing India’s private sector, Mr. Hemant Sharma, President – Polyester, Reliance Industries Ltd., noted that India’s textile sector continues to drive the nation’s manufacturing momentum, contributing significantly to employment, exports, and innovation. With renewed policy support and industrial reforms, he projected that India will evolve into a responsible and resilient global sourcing destination as the country advances toward its $30 trillion economic vision by 2047.
A notable highlight was the discussion on the UK–India Free Trade Agreement, led by Mr. Jason Kent, CEO of the British Textile Machinery Association. He described the ongoing FTA negotiations as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to co-create a new global textile order grounded in sustainability, innovation, and shared strengths in manufacturing and research.
India ITME 2026 announced as next major platform
Mr. Ketan Sanghvi, Chairman, India ITME Society, pointed out India’s strong economic performance, marked by a 25% rise in Diwali spending in 2025 compared to 2024. He emphasized that the textile and textile engineering sectors are well-positioned to drive inclusive growth across Asia.
He reaffirmed India ITME Society’s commitment to strengthening global industry engagements ahead of India ITME 2026, scheduled for 4–9 December 2026 at IEML, Greater Noida. The event is expected to be the most significant textile engineering showcase in South and Southeast Asia.
For countries like Bangladesh—one of the world’s leading textile and apparel exporters—the networking event offers new opportunities for technology upgrading, machinery sourcing, and cross-border manufacturing collaborations. As India expands its role in textile engineering, regional integration across Asia is likely to accelerate, benefiting supply chains from spinning to garmenting.
Bangladesh Textile Journal will continue to monitor and report on developments connected to India ITME 2026 and its implications for the South Asian textile ecosystem.
