The Indian textile industry is the second largest employment generating industry next to agriculture. Textile export contributions to the country's export earnings have substantially increased. In 2004-05, it was 16.24% of the total earning of the country. The vision statement prepared by the Indian Cotton Mills Federation projects that it has the potential to reach a size of $85 bn by 2010 from the current level of $37 bn. Further, it has been estimated that textile exports could touch $50 bn by 2010. Supply Chain Management plays a vital role in the textile industry. The Indian textile industry is one of the longest and most complex supply chains in the world, with as many as 15 intermediaries between the farmer and the final consumer. In this paper, an attempt has been made to know the supply chain practices in 10 reputed Indian textile companies.

The textile industry in the post-MFA era has shown positive movements. All India Index of Industrial Production (IIP) registered an increase of 8% during 2005-06 as against the corresponding period of last year, the index of production for the textile industries showed a surge in the entire sector. Textile exports contribution to the country's export earnings has substantially increased. In 2004-05, it was 16.24% of the total export earnings of the country. It grew by 8.2% over the corresponding period of the previous year. The size of the domestic market is estimated at US$25 bn and imports form about 5% of the market size (Annual Report 2004-05). The textile export includes a wide range of items like cotton yarn and fabrics, man-made yarn and fabrics, wool and silk fabrics, and garments. The Indian textile industry has to face competition from various neighboring countries like China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc. Table 1 shows that Revealed Competitive Advantage (RCA) textile sector index in India is poor in comparison to various developing countries. Table 2 shows the competitive position of India among various process and emerging competitors.

Dismantling of Multi-fiber Agreement (MFA) imports quotas offered significant opportunities to the textile sector to capitalize on the expansion of overseas markets. India has performed potentially to be a major beneficiary by developing skills and upgrading technology to take advantage of phasing out of the MFA. The fragmented structure, traditional approach, vertical integration, inferior technology with low mechanism are the major weaknesses of Indian Textile Industry. The textile industry still needs to pay more attention towards the latest management strategies. The competitive forces have compelled the textile companies to pay more attention towards their supply chain. The Indian Textile and Clothing industry is one of the longest and most complex supply chain in the world, with as many as 15 intermediaries between the farmer and the final consumer (Debsis, 2004).

An Insight into the Textile Supply Chain,industry, textile, export, fabrics, supply, textile, earnings, various, estimated, companies, exports, imports, farmer, competitive, intermediaries, consumer, substantially, corresponding, technology, Dismantling, beneficiary, earning, employment, capitalize, Clothing, comparison, compelled, garments, competition, Industrial, Indonesia, industries