Following a roundtable on advancing apparel and textile trade between the UK and India, Shami Rao tells Just Style there is a lot of good work going on in performance wear all across the world. In India, she says start-ups and researchers are also getting involved, so she predicts that "very soon we will have good productions" and "we're very keen to grow".

Aside from performance wear she highlights that "India is the second largest producer of man-made fibre" and the "largest producer of man-made cellulose fibre".

India's plan to grow in athleisure and technical textiles

She points out garments made from man made fibres are well received in Europe, the US, and the UK, but she adds: "We understand that textiles have a usage beyond clothing as there is also a useful industrial application.

She explains: "With our technical manpower and our technical engineering students undertaking many subjects, we see India as a very strong contender on man-made fibre and technical textiles."

Shami Rao can also see that as the world's populations grow, health and hygiene requirements will also increase, which include a larger demand for health products from tissues to disposable towels and sanitary napkins.

She describes it as "a very exciting area" and India is looking at it closely.

The discussion with Just Style takes place against the backdrop of a discussion on the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with lots of representatives from across India's apparel and textile value chain.

Given this, Shami Rao is keen to share India's aim is to explore new relationships and forge new partnerships.

She also sees the agreement as a way to better understand current consumer tastes and "how far we can go on the sidelines of the forthcoming FTA",

Significance of UK and India FTA

For Shami Rao, the significance of this FTA is that it puts India at parity with many other countries and offers cost advantages.

"We were doing very well, and we can now do even better, and it also opens up a whole set of new possibilities, because it elevates trust between the two countries, and across the industry."

When quizzed on when the benefits in terms of export values and volumes will become apparent, she asserts: "We see this as a starting point. The Indian cabinet has ratified it, and we are looking forward to its formalisation.

She notes there is a time lag between the production of goods and when the benefits will take effect, but she hopes more relationships and partnerships can be forged to give it good traction.

Plus, she says, "we want our sources to know that apart from being cost competitive, we are strong on sustainability, traceability, and on our designs with 4,000-plus designers graduating every year from India's National Institute of Fashion Technology, We've also had partnerships with academic institutes in the UK and we want to leverage all of that."

She can also see benefits for the UK's manufacturing sector as well as India's: "it's mutual," she says as investments can happen on both sides with technologies transferred between the countries' industries.

Shami Rao observes there is a lot of excitement in the room from small UK businesses with conversations taking place across networks, and she looks forward to seeing how the UK will leverage the strength of India's workmanship and craftmanship.

Impact of uncertain US-India trade relationship

The elephant in the room is the fact India is navigating steep 50% tariffs from the US, however, Shami Rao notes India believes in the "power of dialogue" and she says there is an ongoing dialogue between the two countries' governments at the moment.

This is supported by reports claiming India officials held “constructive” talks with US counterparts during a visit to Washington last week with both sides agreeing to continue discussions and conclude a mutually beneficial trade deal soon, according to Reuters.

In the meantime, India is focused on building its relationships with key trading partners, including the UK with this new FTA as well as with other countries in the EU and Switzerland.

She concludes: "We want to leverage all of that in the European continent and we see this as being a trigger for lots of good things."