Aditya Birla Group to expand textile value chain initiative

Aditya Birla Group will scale up and further expand LIVA Accredited Partners Forum (LAPF) -- an initiative to improve the textile value chain -- by reaching out to more players from rural hubs and small towns across the country, a top company official said. "This is an attempt to bring all textile stakeholders on a single platform and promote innovation and quality, and make India the world's leading cloth manufacturing hub in line with the Make in India strategy," President Consumer Insights and Brand Development of the Group, Prakash Nedungadi said. "India has the potential and can compete with any country including China," he said at a Stakeholders' Conclave here yesterday.

This initiative is not just limited to cities, but will also include small towns and rural players, he added. The conclave, involving over 200 leading textile players mainly from the southern states, was held as part of its efforts to support design development, technical skills, marketing and buyer link support, under the LAPF initiative. "This is a unique unity for quality. We have 320 members on board and the forum plays a key role in improving the value chain through critical support," Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing (India, SAARC, Far East) of the Group, Ashwin J Laddha, said. Birla Cellulose, the pulp and fibre manufacturing division of Grasim, a leading player in Viscose Staple Fibre industry with 93 percent share market share, has tied up with Mumbai-based Netcarrots to implement a customer relationship marketing programme for the stakeholders, he said. LAPF members include spinners, weavers, knitters and fabricators, with major participation from textile hubs such as Tirupur, Erode, Ludhiana, New Delhi, Kolkatta, Surat, Bhiwandi, the company said in a statement.

The LAPF programme is linked to Birla Cellulose's fibre brand LIVA, which was launched in March this year, in line with the group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla's vision of establishing connect with the end consumer. The company has also tied up with Bombay Textile Research Association to undertake quality improvement programmes and stringent audits for the partners, the statement added.