Chai pe Charcha @ Surat- Day 1 of Mentor on Road

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen and a push in the right direction”- John C. Crosby

As the SUV reached its first stop on this eventful journey of 65 days we were greeted by the warmness of the scintillating city of Surat, the city of diamonds and textiles. Mr. Amit Shah, the local mentor of Surat joined the journey as we proceeded to meet, discuss, analyze and mentor the SME’s operating in the textile sector in Surat. The meet was organized by New Textile Market Association under the leadership of Mr. Devkishan Manghani, Chairman of committee on textiles, Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI). As the brainstorming session with the various textile companies proceeded forward, many a pertinent issues were raised. It was observed that a  lot of manufactures desire to make their presence felt in the global scenario and desire to acquaint themselves with the various facets of overseas marketing. There was also an overwhelming desire that loans should be provided without collateral or security and at a lower rate for the textile industry. The air of the room was rift with suggestions, new ideas as many individuals voiced their opinions. “Complete tax exemption for garments whose price ranges to Rs 450” similar to the tax exemption given to other industrial segments like leather footwear was an idea that echoed across the room.

Mr Jagat Shah, Chief Mentor and Mr Amit Shah, Local mentor for Surat

Today as we know that technology is undergoing rapid strides and there is a need for all industrial clusters to acquaint with the latest technology, the textile companies of Surat to voiced a similar sentiment, as they desired that showrooms showcasing the latest technologies emerging in the  textile domain should be set up by the government. The need to provide “manufacturer status” to textile traders who manufacture through value addition was highlighted. As the deliberations continued certain tasks that could be carried out to address these issues and help the textile SME’s were identified. It was analyzed that skill based training should be provided to the SME’s working in textile sector and the R&D should be strengthened to develop quality goods so that they realize their global exposure dreams. In a recent report by Google India it was ascertained that online fashion retail market will reach around Rs 2.22 lakh crores by 2020, in a similar light the need to bring online sales to the forte for textile sector was recognized. It was also decided to bring forward the idea to have a textile commissioner office in Surat and to work towards developing Surat’s infrastructure particularly transportation facilities like airports, active port etc to make Surat a viable destination from around the globe and develop trade further.

New textile Association, Surat Meet with SME's

Mentoring at Tulsi Grocery Store

With all this humdrum of life slowly fading by and the  sun starting its downward journey heralding the end of a long day, it  was not the end of the day for the us as we set out on yet another task.  Carrying the message that digitization would enable to reach a larger audience I along with Mr. Amit Shah and Mr. Shriram Singh then visited Tulsi grocery store whom we mentored on benefits of going online by forming alliances with a online store. So, with this the long day finally came to an end, a day filled with deliberations, brainstorming and a hope for brighter days we finally took the much needed siesta ready to embark on their journey for the next day.