Apparel Export Promotion Council is all set to roll out an industry led pan India programme on Compliance - DISHA (Driving Industry towards Sustainable Human Capital Advancement) for the exporters, to guide the industries in meeting their compliance requirements through an orientation cum enrollment workshop.
The programme was inaugurated by M. Mathivanan, IAS, District Collector, Tirupur in the presence of Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC; G. Karthikeyan, General Secretary,TEA; A.Aloysius, Executive Director- SAVE, Tirupur; other major NGOs, TRADE UNIONS and trade bodies & brands in Tirupur today at the Tirupur Exporters’ Association Hall.
This program will encourage members to follow better social practices, which will give them a competitive edge in the global market where social compliance is increasingly becoming an important buying decision. Sponsored by Ministry of Textiles, this initiative by AEPC attempts to educate apparel exporting members on a code of ethics that covers all critical social and environmental concerns like child labour/trafficked labour, freedom of association, health and industrial safety, etc. DISHA programme and the website were launched by the former Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Smt. Rita Menon in December 2011.
“This educative program will orient exporters about the code compliance guidelines and industry safety and will further help them to leverage this platform by gaining solutions in their audit requirements. It is envisaged that it will eventually reduce the burden of various exporters who are faced with multiple audit programmes.
The huge response received from the Tirupur Textile fraternity has prompted AEPC to start the rollout programme from Tirupur itself. I would recommend all garment exporters in India to avail of this programme,” commented Dr. A Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council.
Tirupur is the leading exporting centre of knitted garments and undergarments. It is a well integrated cluster with maximum number of units into garment making followed by knitting, dyeing and bleaching, fabric printing, etc.
“AEPC has also suggested in a memorandum submitted to DGFT this month that the apparel units which complete the Common Compliance Scheme of the Ministry of Textile and produce a certificate from implementing agency be entitled for double digit weightage on export made for Grant and Status.”added, Dr. A Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council.
During the workshop, DISHA code of ethics were discussed. The enrolled units underwent an orientation and training program based on the code and guidelines prepared on the Common Compliance Code.
DISHA is the first of its kind public private partnership programme. The programme is being funded by Ministry of Textiles, with 75% of the project cost coming from the Ministry. AEPC has a target of enrolling a total of 400 units by the end of this year and 2000 garment factories by 2017, with focus on small exporters. The council will help the garment manufacturers comply with the global social standards and norms.
‘DISHA’ will not only give the opportunity for the industry to negate international claims of presence of child labour/trafficked labour in the garment industry, but will also help to improve the overall image of the industry on the global front and not the least, to win more international businesses. After training and impact assessment of all the units, necessary certifications will be given.
Two more workshops will be held in Bangalore and Chennai on 22nd and 23rdFebruary, 2012 respectively.