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For a long time, Punjab has been strong
in two industrial sectors namely
textiles and light engineering goods. It
is the second largest producer of cotton
and blended yarn and the third largest
producer of mill-made fabrics in India.
This is the reason why it has a
competitive edge as compared to other
states, since the textile industry
covers the entire value chain i.e. from
raw material to the finished products
stage.
Textiles from Punjab have the largest
share in the total exports, followed by
bicycles, bicycle parts and rice.
According to a report by India Brand
Equity Foundation (IBEF), the textile
sector had revenues of over $2.75
billion in 2004-05, contributing over 21
per cent to manufacturing output and 24
per cent to industrial employment in the
state. The sector’s output showed an
impressive Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
of over eight per cent between 2000-01
and 2004-05. Ludhiana district is often
dubbed as the “Manchester of India”. The
city is a home to well-known textile
companies like Trident, Vardhman Group
and Nahar Group.
Apart from textiles and bicycles, other
key industries in this state are
chemicals, food, metal and alloy,
pharmaceuticals, paper and sports
products.
Punjab, the land of five rivers has an
ancient tradition of weaving cotton
durries. Durries are made with the help
of comb-like iron fork called ‘punja’,
which means hand. It is used to heat the
waft yarn to fix up in woven structure.
Carpets from Punjab and Haryana are
woven in traditional stripes as well as
with figures of stylized birds, animals
and human forms, usually used as motifs.
Most commonly, Mouri designs are used
that are beautiful geometric patterns.
Earlier vegetable and mineral dyes like
indigo, madder, turmeric, henna were
used. Now with more technological
advancement, chemical bath treatment is
applied on carpets for a high luster.
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