The chemical industry in India is counted among those industries that began working immediately after the countrys independence in 1947. So, it is one of the oldest contributors towards the Indian economy. At present the average annual growth rate of the industry is 12.5 percent.

The Indian chemical industry is divided into a number of segments and each segment has significantly contributed towards the overall growth of the industry. A number of favorable factors have supported the industry well to show desired progress rate. You can learn about these factors and have an overview of the industry as well as exporters and
chemicals importer from the following discussion.

It was till 1991 that India was a closed economy. However, the adoption of liberal policy in 1991 benefited most of the industries, including the chemical industry in India. Since then, the industry has gained recognition in the global economy. Today, it ranks at the 12th position in the world in terms of the production size. Also, the industry contributes 13 percent towards the total export from India at present.

It has been estimated that in few years to come, the industry is going to attain the worth of 100 billion US dollars. To achieve this target, there is need for the improvement in the following areas:
* More number of entrepreneurs is required to steer the industry on the path of expected growth.

* Growth of the overseas sales network to help industrial chemical manufacturers in India to find international buyers.

* Increase in direct employment within the industry.

* Stress on chemical manufacturing knowledge and specialty.

* Improvement in the standards of health and safety.

* Increased use of information technology in the industry.

* And of course, the increase in specialty chemical plants.

The chemical industry in India is divided into various segments. Some of the main segments and their progress statistics are as below:

* Inorganic chemicals constitute one of the major segments of the countrys total chemical production. A growth rate of 9 percent is recorded for the segment that includes alkalis, fertilizers and detergents as main chemicals.

* Drugs and pharmaceuticals are among the most exported chemicals from India. This segment of the Indian chemical industry ranks at 4th position in the world. The growth rate of 8 to 9 percent is recorded by the segment.

* Agro-chemical products include pesticides and fertilizers as the main chemicals in this category. The 10 percent domestic market growth rate is recorded by this segment.

* Dyes and paints segment has a growth rate of about 12 percent. The segment also includes polymers and other related chemicals.

* Petrochemicals in the Indian chemical manufacturing industry have the fastest growth rate of 15 percent.

Considering the growth trends in different sections of the chemical industry in India, one can easily place the industry among major contributors towards the overall growth of the countrys economy. To improve the sales network for the Indian chemicals, the manufacturers and suppliers need to rely upon the online b2b networks. The b2b directories are the places where small and medium sized chemical manufacturing enterprises can gain more benefits.

Impact of Globalization on Indian Textile Industry (Author: S.Hariharaputhiran, Associate Prof. Dept.of Mgt.Studies VSB Engineering College, Karur)

ABSTRACT

Impact of Globalization on Indian Industry started when the government opened the country’s markets to foreign investments in the early 1990s. Globalization of the Indian Industry took place in its various sectors such as steel, pharmaceutical, petroleum, chemical, textile, cement, retail, and BPO.

Globalization means the dismantling of trade barriers between nations and the integration of the nations economies through financial flow, trade in goods and services, and corporate investments between nations. Globalization has increased across the world in recent years due to the fast progress that has been made in the field of technology especially in communications and transport. The government of India made changes in its economic policy in 1991 by which it allowed direct foreign investments in the country. As a result of this, globalization of the Indian Industry took place on a major scale.

The various beneficial effects of globalization in Indian Industry are that it brought in huge amounts of foreign investments into the industry especially in the BPO, pharmaceutical, petroleum, and manufacturing industries. As huge amounts of foreign direct investments were coming to the Indian Industry, they boosted the Indian economy quite significantly. The benefits of the effects of globalization in the Indian Industry are that many foreign companies set up industries in India, especially in the pharmaceutical, BPO, petroleum, manufacturing, and chemical sectors and this helped to provide employment to many people in the country. This helped reduce the level of unemployment and poverty in the country. Also the benefit of the Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry are that the foreign companies brought in highly advanced technology with them and this helped to make the Indian Industry more technologically advanced. The various negative Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry are that it increased competition in the Indian market between the foreign companies and domestic companies. With the foreign goods being better than the Indian goods, the consumer preferred to buy the foreign goods. This reduced the amount of profit of the Indian Industry companies. This happened mainly in the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, chemical, and steel industries. The negative Effects of Globalization on Indian Industry are that with the coming of technology the number of labor required decreased and this resulted in many people being removed from their jobs. This happened mainly in the pharmaceutical, chemical, manufacturing, and cement industries.

The effects of globalization on Indian Industry have proved to be positive as well as negative. The government of India must try to make such economic policies with regard to Indian Industry’s Globalization that are beneficial and not harmful. Impact of Globalization on Indian Textile Industry The initiation and development of globalization and Indian textile industry took place simultaneously in the 1990s. The Indian textile industry, until the economic liberalization of Indian economy was predominantly an unorganized industry. The economic liberalization of Indian economy in the early 1990s led to stupendous growth of this Indian industry. The Indian textile industry is one of the largest textile industries in the world and India earns around 27% of the foreign exchange from exports of textiles and its related products. Further, globalization of India textile Industry has seen a paradigm increase in the ‘total industrial production’ factor of this Industry, which presently stands at 14%. Furthermore, the contribution of the Indian textile Industry towards the gross domestic product (GDP) of India is around 3% and the numbers are steadily increasing. The process of globalization and Indian textile industry development was the effect of rapid acceptance of ‘open market’ policy by the developing countries, much in the lines of the developed countries of the world. The initiation and its subsequent development of globalization and Indian textile industry respectively, was effected by the Ministry of Textiles under the Government of India. The aggressive policy that was undertaken for the rapid development of globalization and Indian textile industry were really praiseworthy. The most significant step amongst them was introduction of “The National Textile Policy 2000”. This policy envisaged to address the following issues –

Increased global competition in the post 2005 trade regime under WTO Huge import volume of cheap textiles from other Asian neighbors High production cost with respect to other Asian competitors Use of outdated manufacturing technology Poor supply chain management and huge transit cost Huge unorganized and decentralized sector Further, this policy also aims at increasing the foreign exchange earnings to the tune of US $ 50 billion by the end of the year 2010. It includes rational projections for the overall development and promotion of all the sectors involved directly or indirectly with the Indian textile industry. Furthermore, this policy also envisages the inclusion of the huge unorganized and decentralized Indian textile sector under the organized textile industry. This is because the unorganized textile manufacturing sector in India accounts for 76% of the total textile production. The globalization of the Indian textile sector was the cumulative effect of the following factors – Huge textile production capacity Efficient multi-fiber raw material manufacturing capacity Large pool of skilled and cheap work force Entrepreneurial skills Huge export potential Large domestic market Very low import content Flexible textile manufacturing systems The Indian textile industry consist of the following sectors – Man-made Fiber Filament Yarn Industry Cotton Textile Industry Jute Industry Silk and Silk Textile Industry Wool & Woolen Industry Power loom Sector An approximate number of textile manufacturing companies operating in India are given below – Badges, emblems ribbons and allied products – 175 Bed covers, curtains, cushions and other draperies – 2471 Carpets and rugs – 270 Embroidery and embroidered garments, made ups and furnishing – 848 Fabrics and textiles – 3013 Yarns and threads – 1201 Jute products – 337 Kids apparel and garments -1052 Ladies apparel and garments – 2932 Men’s’ apparel and garments – 2936 Miscellaneous garments, textile and leather accessories – 1658 Yarns and threads – 1201 Wool, woolen garments, blankets and accessories – 468 Textile chemicals, dyeing and finishing chemicals – 239 The overall growth of the Indian textile industry can be attributed to the globalization. Today, the Indian textile industry employs around 35 million personnel directly and it accounts for 21% of the total employment generated in the economy. Globalization of the Indian textile industry has also facilitated introduction of modern and efficient manufacturing machineries and techniques in the Indian textile sector. Thus, much of India’s economic growth is largely dependent on textile manufacturing and exports. Impact of globalisation of textile industry on traditional weaving operations: It is significant to note that in spite of growing competitions and pressure caused by a modern textile sector and shortage/irregular availability of raw materials, almost all the weaver families surveyed have still been continuing their weaving operations to a limited scale. Nearly 26.5% of the surveyed women reported that the weaving activities of the family has seriously been affected due to competitive pressure of modern textile industry. About 58% of the women reported that their weaving operation has moderately been affected. The effect has been more sever for those women working under the co-operative societies and production centres. Majority (98%) of the women reported that modern textile items are available at relatively cheaper prices affecting market for handloom products. Nearly 87% of women respondents reported that growing consumer preference and test, in recent times, towards variety of modern fabrics has severely affected the demand for handloom items. Textile products being manufactured by organized spinning mills offer variety of design and fabrics and attract more number of consumers, squeezing the market size for traditional handloom products, as reported by 58% of the women respondents. The growing consumer preference for modern textile products is directly attributed to increasing investment made by the organized sector on advertisement and promotion. The opinion of the surveyed women respondents call for modernization and technological upgradation of the traditional handloom industry in order to retain its unique position and to achieve economy in competitive environment. Provision of sustainable supply of good quality of raw materials can greatly aid in smoothening the operational crisis in handloom sector. There has been steady decline of the functional performance of the weaver co-operative societies and production centres as a result of growing competition caused by the organised modern textile industries. Nearly 66.7% and 17.5% of the women respondents alleged that the functioning of their societies and production centres have severely and moderately been affected due to the competitive situation caused by the modern textile industry. The competitive situation caused by the modern textile industry has resulted in complete stoppage and stagnation of the societies, decreased sales volume, low and irregular supply of raw materials, irregularity of wage payment, reduction of members, weakening of the financial status, stoppage of bank credit loan etc. Nearly 52.5% of the respondents under co-operative sector reported that the function of the co-operative societies and production centres has drastically reduced to very low level. Even several societies and production centres have stopped working. The strength of membership has gradually been reduced in several societies and centres, as reported by 15.8% of the surveyed women. Sales volume of several societies has considerably been reduced. In spite of stiff competition and resulting weakening of their traditional business, almost all the surveyed weaver families are still continuing their traditional business, with much hardship. At present, nearly 69.4% of the surveyed families reported having one working loom with them. Hardly 2.9% of them reported the status of their loom as non-functioning condition. Nearly 27.7% of the surveyed weaver families reported possessing two working looms. It is noticed that maximum proportion (72.5%) of the weaver families is operating their looms 46-75 hours in week. The actual hours of utilisation of looms by surveyed families fall far behind the actual available hours per week. The low level of utilisation of loom is directly attributed to inadequate and irregular supply of raw materials, low demand/sales of the handloom products and associated financial problems faced by weavers and cooperative societies as well. The reasons for low utilisation looms mainly relate to stagnation of demand, shortage of raw materials, shortage of loom accessories etc. Excessive delay in receiving the raw materials through co-operative societies and production centres has greatly reduced the level of utilisation of their weaving assets as reported by 12.3% of the surveyed families. Only 26% of the surveyed weaver families reported that there is no scope of further increasing the level of operation, but remaining 74% of them expressed their hope for further increasing the level of operation. Nearly half of the surveyed families expressed their need for modernizing their loom either by replacement or by repairing their old looms. Most of the weaver families are conversant with their existing types of looms and hence needed replacement of similar type. About 40% of the weaver families, who expressed their need for modernisation, felt the need for repairing their old looms to make it more productive and functional. Around 43% of weaver families expressed the need for adding few more number of looms to their existing set up. All the weaver families opting for modernisation reported that such modernisation could result in increase in the processing of yarns and improving their level of operation. Nearly 17.5% of the weaver families who opted for modernization reported that such modernisation would contribute to improving the quality of their handloom products. It is noticed that the average quantity of yarns being processed per weaver family per month, in the co-operative sector, in the past was 4.9 kg. per month which has marginally come down to 3.9 kg. per month per household, in the current period, due to decline in sales of handloom products. In case of families under non-co-operative sector, the average consumption of yarn per family per month has marginally declined from 4.9 kg. (past) to 4.1 kg. in the current period. The average monthly consumption of dyes per household has marginally declined from 583 gm. (past) to 517 gm. in the current period, showing a decline of 11.3%. In keeping with this stagnating market for handloom products in the face of increasing competition posed by modern textile sector, demand for yarns per month per household shows decline from 5.1 kg. (past) to 4.7 kg. in the current period. As a whole, the monthly requirement of yarn in the current period varies in the range of 2 kg. to 12 kg. per household. The wide variation of requirement as well as consumption of yarns and dyes by different households reflects the great deal of variation of time and efforts needed for different type of handloom products, quality design and highly crafted fabrics needing relatively more time and processing efforts. As a whole, the actual monthly requirement of yarns per households is nearly 17.5% higher over what they receive and process, in the current period. The average monthly demand of dyes per household show a decline from 591 gm. to 520 gm. (a decline of 12 %) in the current period. Among the beneficiaries procuring yarns, the extent of dependance on co-operative societies as sources of supply has greatly decreased and most of the beneficiaries are now depending on local market for procuring yarns. While 54% of the weaver families were depending on co-operative societies as the source of supply of yarn. Currently only 9% of them are depending on the societies for this purpose. It is important to note that majority (89%) of the weaver families reported depending upon local market for procuring yarns for their weaving operation, while only 46% of them were depending on the local source of supply in the past years. The co-operative societies, which are earlier playing an important role for supplying raw material for traditional weaving, have been relegated to a very miserable position in this context. The scarcity of funds and operational weakness of most of the co-operative societies has been responsible for decreased dependence of the weaver communities on them for procuring raw materials. About 53% of the weaver families reported facing shortage of yarns and dyes required for processing their handloom products, at present. However, 47% of the surveyed families reported that they did not face any shortage of yarns and dyes. The percentage of weaver families reporting shortage of yarns and dyes relatively belongs more to the co-operative sector as compared to those not supported by co-operative sector. Nearly 40.5% of weaver families, who reported shortage of yarns and dyes to meet their production requirement, stated that their weaving operation has moderately been affected due to such shortage, at present. The weaver co-operative societies have failed to ensure steady supply of yarns and dyes to its members to maintain continuity in handloom operation. Nearly 50.5% of the surveyed families expressed their dissatisfaction on the role and performance of the co-operative societies in the context of arranging and supplying required quantity of yarns and dyes to its weaver members, at present. The major reasons of dissatisfaction of the weaver families on the services of co-operative societies mainly pertain to irregularity in supply, inadequate of quantity of supply and poor quality goods delivered. About 56.1% of the weaver families, who expressed dissatisfaction on the services of the societies, reported that supply of yarns and dyes by the societies is frequently irregular. Among the various kinds of woven goods, it is interesting to note that almost all the households engaged in weaving produces sarees. Only small number of families produces other items like dhotty, bedsheets, cloth pices, towels etc. The average number of pieces of sarees produced in a month per weaver household is nearly 8. The average number pieces of sarees produced per weaver households have come down form 10 (past) to 8, at present. Similarly, there has been reduction in monthly production of different category of woven products, as reported by surveyed weaver families. The average value of production of saree per household per month shows a decline from Rs.4,300/- (past) to Rs. 4,000/- at present. The handloom products having its own superb and distinct position in textile sector enjoy a wide spread market in both rural and urban areas. The competitive pressure exerted by modern textile products has not created any perceptible change in the acceptance and the choice of customer segment for handloom products. Due to growing deterioration of functional performance of the weaver co-operative societies and production centres, majority of the weaver community has switched over to direct marketing. The average monthly sale per household of handloom products in terms of pieces through co-operative societies has declined from 15 (past) to 3, at present. On the other hand, the average monthly sales of different handloom goods per month per household have increased from 7 (past) to 13 (current), through open market. In terms of change in value of woven products sold through co-operative societies, it is found that the average value of monthly sale per household has decreased from Rs. 5,000/- (past) to Rs. 1500/- at present. Conclusion : With liberalization of Indian economy, the modern textile industry has posed serious threat to the traditional handloom industry. Rapid technological upgradation and automation in modern textile industry has made high volume of production of a variety of quality synthetic and cotton textile items, enjoying competitive advantage over the handloom products. The handloom industry, both in co-operative and private sector, with its vast rural work force especially of weaver communities is confronted with challenge of competitive economic environment. The weakening position of handloom sector in the wake of global competition of textile industry has posed a serious threat to the socioeconomic life of the traditional weaver communities, in general and to the socioeconomic status of rural women of these weaver communities in particular.

Key word: Textile industry, Modern Textile Products, Traditional weaving operations.

The Philippine call center industry has truly grown in the past year. This is because the Philippines offer all that outsourcing offshore businesses need. First and foremost of these is the available competent workforce and relatively lower cost of labor as compared to an onshore operation. The industry has developed well and lead race in the global outsourcing industry. Every since the industry was went full swing in 1999, there was no turning back in development. A significant number of such businesses established in India moved or branched towards the Philippine archipelago when the large potential for the countrys geographic location was realized.

So are you Ready to Work in a Call Center?
Call centers, also called contact centers are great places to work in especially since one does not need any specific degree to get into one. A lot of Filipinos, according to surveys, have college degrees. However, you could have either finished mass media or nursing and it would not matter. All you need are the right skills especially in communicating with people and you could get hired right away. The best part about getting into this kind of career however, is the pay. This industry offers highly competitive salary rates even for the entry level applicants. This is why the call center has so many applicants.

However, it is not all fun and games. There are also a lot of challenges that one must face when getting into a career as a contact center agent. So what exactly are these challenges?

Challenges of Working in a Philippine Call Center
There are many challenges to working the contact center conditions. Filipinos basically love to wake up early in the morning to work (as opposed to say people in Hong Kong where the night is alive and people sleep till almost noon). But this will have to change because the call center industry requires one to work during the night. This is of course because the Philippines is almost at the opposite end of the globe to the U.S. where most of the customer calls will most likely come from. Thus, the time differential is immense. Day time in the United States is Night time in the Philippines. Conversely, night time in the Philippines is day time in the U.S.

There some dangers to working at night that one should first be aware of before considering going into the contact center industry game. Remember that the body has a natural circadian rhythm also commonly called as ones “body clock.” The body biological clocks time was determined by billions of years of evolution. Reversing this can have bad effects to some people with weak constitutions who cannot adjust well enough. Those with bad respiratory problems will exacerbate their problems. But those with heart diseases should not even consider going into such a career.

Other than these, working in a Philippine call center can be fun and comfortable if one can adjust well enough. The pay is good and there are always good medical benefits such as health cards.

Overuse of nitrogen fertilizers which has led to deficiency of other macro nutrients in the soils of Vietnam has encouraged the government to support use of potash fertilizers in the country.

The consumption of fertilizers in Vietnam has been growing at a CAGR of 3.4% during 2006-2012 as the government struggles to fulfill the goal of food security for the growing population of the country. The fertilizer sector has been one of the most resilient sectors even during the economic downturn making it one of the most profitable sector for the fertilizer companies. The fertilizer industry of the country is concentrated with majority of the supply being done by two giants namely Petrovietnam Group and Vietnam National Chemical Group with most of the companies being affiliated to these two groups. Majority of the fertilizer firms in the country have focused on production of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers. Nitrogen fertilizers contributed more than half of the overall consumption of fertilizers in the country in 2012.

However with the government now focusing on the concept of balanced fertilization, the consumption of potash fertilizers is expected to grow in the coming years 2013-2017. The consumption of potash fertilizers in expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.3% during 2012-2017 which would be the fastest growing as compared to the other macronutrients such as nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers thereby driving the growth of fertilizer industry in the country. The two major potash fertilizers used in the country are potassium chloride and NPK fertilizer both of which are exhibited to witness a favorable growth of 5.5% and 5.1% during 2012-1017.

-Majority of the potash fertilizers are imported in the country with the imports in the country growing at a CAGR of 8.2% during 2006-2012. The largest amount of potash imports was from Belarus in 2012 which reached 233,444.0 tons- – According to the research report -Vietnam Fertilizer Industry Outlook to 2017 – Government Initiatives to Enhance NPK Complex Fertilizer Growth’ by Ken Research.

Government funded initiatives such as Balanced Fertilization for better crops in Vietnam (BALCORP) would drive the growth of potash fertilizers in the country. The consumption of potash fertilizers would reach ~ thousand tons nutrients growing at a CAGR of 5.3% during 2012-2017.

The report provides detailed overview on the fertilizer market in Vietnam and help reader to identify the ongoing trends in the key segments of the industry and anticipated growth in future depending upon changing industry dynamics in coming years. The report will aid industry consultants, fertilizer companies and marketing companies and other stakeholders to align their market centric strategies accordi

Hospitality has long been synonymous with the hotel industry. Any changes in trends of hotel business have wide scale implications on an otherwise diverse industry. What might be an opportunity for a traveler can be a matter of survival for hotels? It will not be an oversimplification to suggest that the emerging concepts in hotel industry reveal an atmosphere of stiff competition. Here is a look at a few major issues:

Is Green better?

Amid growing concern over environment friendly services, a majority of travelers now prefer Green and Eco lodgings. Recent surveys by trade associations such as Partnership Travel Industry Association and online retailers like Yahoo revealed that nearly seventy percent of the tourists are willing to pay extra when it comes to environmental friendly lodgings. These surveys further revealed that these guests will pay anywhere from nine to ten percent premium on the already advertised prices.

What can be stated as a welcome relief for the educated traveler might pose real challenges for the hotel business. To better understand the scenario, it should be noted that hotels are presently facing severe shortages in occupancy rates which are at their lowest since 1971. Such a crisis and lack of funds can definitely hamper any efforts to install appliances that comply with the LEEDS standards (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design). Some experts agree that a trade off may lead hotels into removing free amenities that include little bottles of shampoos, jams and free basket of fruits; all of which are the hallmark of these eco lodgings.

Where are the Workers gone?

The hotel industry gives employment at a very large proportion of part time workers, who after gaining substantial experience, leave for other lucrative jobs at restaurants and outdoors. Low wages in the hotel industry is one of the primary reasons for low retention rates.

Hotel industry Gurus are already thinking of ways to attract and retain qualified workers by increasing the pay scales and by reducing the long working hours. The top management is now devising constructive methods that will retain the existing workers by sponsoring education and creating attractive career paths.

Mega Hotels

The rising cost of construction and a struggling real estate has prompted hoteliers to deploy the pre-fabricated and cost effective solution in the construction of new hotels. In fact they are fighting back by producing highly efficient designs that utilize a greater proportion of space for revenue generating purpose. Future trends in the hotel construction will seek to maximize the use of building areas by constructing a multi purpose facility that will include Casinos, shopping outlets and Theatres. The stand alone hotel concept is likely to vanish as the new properties will be constructed as a mixed use development to provide guests with facilities such as Church, Hospitals and Theme Parks. Such a variety will ensure that guests remain at one spot which will help generate revenue for the entire hotel complex.

The evolution of savvy traveller

The evolution of internet has given rise to a phenomenon where travelers are becoming ever more demanding. Industry professionals suggest that an increase in a trend, to review properties online, will make travelers less forgiving as they are able to post their travel experiences. Such an overemphasis on web may even lead to stiff competition and price reduction strategies where only large players may be able to survive.

To ward of such threats, the small business owner is now turning towards opening a boutique establishment as an alternate to 70,s style motels. Such niche properties are popping up everywhere by advertising a more personalized “home away from home” kind of experience. The introduction of such boutique properties has also given rise to the popular and widely accepted theme of modern hostels. These hostels are keen to provide a clean and safe environment for budget conscious travelers. Their goal is to wipe out the myths associated with cheap motels and dingy guesthouses.

Whatever may be the case, one thing is for sure that constant remodeling of the hotel industry has made it more functional and practical not only for the guests but also for the hotel owners.