A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony was heldbetween Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and M/s. Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre Japan,  through video conferencing here today. The Union Cabinet chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister in its meeting held on 2^nd September, 2020 had given the approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)  between the two organisations. The signing ceremony was Presided over by Hon’ble Minister of Textiles and Minister of Women and Child Development , Smt. SmritiZubinIrani on the Indian side and by His Excellency Mr. YasumasaNagasaka, Hon’ble State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Govt. of Japan from the Japanese side.

The main  objective of the MoU is to  provide required support to textile’s trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers  through Testing, Inspection & Conformity Assessment, Training & Capacity Building, Research & Development (R&D) and Consultancy.  It is expected that the MoU will strengthen the bilateral trade  by enhancing India’s export of Textile and Apparels (T&A) to Japan, which is the third largest export destination of the world.

This MoU will formalize mutual interaction and strengthen the relationship in accordance with their respective areas of specialisation.  Both the institutions have agreed to share and exchange relevant technical information and documentation on a regular basis and carry out activities relating to standards, quality assurance norms, joint research projects on testing, development of user friendly tools for dissemination of data to the industry and facilitate sourcing across the Textiles Value Chain (TVC) from both the countries.

Speaking on the occasion of the signing ceremony,Smt. SmritiZubinIrani fondly recalled the friendship and long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilizational ties between India and Japan. She also extolled about the further deepening and strengthening of the India-Japan relationship under the able leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji. The Minister further highlighted the challenge relating to stringent quality standards for exports to Japan and expressed confidence that the MoU will help in creating awareness on the various quality parameters being sought by the importers based in Japan and extending hand-holding support to the Indian exporters to adopt and upgrade their technology so as to enhance the quality of products and satisfy the stipulations as required by the Japanese importers.

She also spoke about the synergy in the working of the two organisations and expressed confidence that it will inter alia boost the Technical Textiles sector as well and improve sourcing from India. She also urged the T & A industry to make full use of the opportunity in furthering Indian Interests.

Speaking on the occasion, the Japanese State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, ShYasumasaNagasaka highlighted that India is a huge market for Japanese industry and expressed confidence that going forward, there will be substantial development in the India- Japan trade relationship.

India and Japan have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2011 which inter-alia facilitates import of garments from India to Japan at zero duty. Despite CEPA, the growth in trade in Textiles and Apparel (T&A) between the two countries has been moderate. Japan is third largest importer of T&A in the world and India is 6^th largest exporter and there is huge untapped potential for trade which remains unharnessed.

It is in this backdrop, a high level delegation from Ministry of Textiles was mounted in February, 2019 with a view to enhance exports and co-operation in textile sector and to identify areas for optimizing the benefit of CEPA. As an outcome of these developments, the Textiles Committee entered into negotiation with M/s.Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan for providing valuable services to the textile trade and industry of both the countries through collaborative efforts between the two organisations.

About Textiles Committee

The Textiles Committee was established in the year 1963 by an Act of Parliament and is a statutory body under the Ministry of Textiles with a mandate, inter alia, to ensure quality of all textiles and textile products for domestic and export markets. The Textiles Committee is the only body providing for all the quality related needs of the entire Textiles Value Chain (TVC) in an integrated format on a pan-India basis through its network of 28 offices across the country including 19 state of art laboratories accredited under relevant national and International standards. 

About Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan

M/s Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre is one of the leading Testing and Inspection organizations in Japan established in 1948 and providing world-class facilities and rendering valuable services to the textiles trade and industry in Japan and 7 other countries including China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and India.

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BY/TFK