MIND TREE
Q-and-A After 27 years, Dr. A Sakthivel is stepping down as the President of Tirupur Exporters’ Association (TEA). How do you see his overall efforts and achievements for the growth of Tirupur as well as for the Indian apparel export industry? You must be having some experience/memory with him…, do share the same with Apparel Online.
Ashok G Rajani, Chairman, AEPC, Gurgaon Dr. A. Sakthivel has been a prime mover of visionary projects like TEA and Netaji Apparel Park. He has also given praiseworthy contribution to the Indian financial sector with his association to UCO Bank, IDBI and ECGC. He has been a great institution builder and helped AEPC redefine itself in the post-quota era with new strategies for export promotion and policy advocacy. I think the industry has learnt a lot from him and will always look up to him as a friend and guide.
Elango Viswanathan, MD, SNQS Internationals, Tirupur Like a true leader, A. Sakthivel has kept up to his commitment. During the run up to the previous TEA elections, he told the export fraternity that this will be his last term as he wants ‘youngsters’ to take over the charge for the future course. He has steered the development of Tirupur for the last 27 years and has
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always put the interest of the association as his top priority. He has won several national and international accolades. We have been friends for the last 30 years and have travelled with him in public life for the last 5 years. I will always rate him as a great negotiator with the politicians, trade unions and bureaucrats when it comes to the challenges facing the industry. He has run TEA without any allegiance to any political party and wish this tradition continues. He has only stepped down from the post and not from our hearts.
Vivek Khandelwal, President, Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR), Jaipur
Raja M. Shanmugham, MD, Warsaw International, Tirupur
R. Ramu, Partner, Fashion Knits, Tirupur
No one person should continue for years as it means stagnation; this has been witnessed in Tirupur and in AEPC at the national level. The declaration is an acceptance of the fact that people want change, which was obvious during the last elections. I think the industry and the nation should vote for change to surge forward and become a super power nation in the future.
Dr. A. Sakthivel is a motivation for us, whenever and wherever he met us, he motivated us for the development of Jaipur and discussed about various growth avenues for Jaipur. He is in fact a great supporter of Indian apparel export industry. I still remember when he was elected Chairman of AEPC, he assured us a visit to Jaipur first and offered full support too.
I know Dr. A. Sakthivel from day one, from the inception of association and have become a close associate of him after becoming an EC member of the association from year 2000 onwards. I have never seen such a person who is so dedicated to solve any issues related to the industry. I wish to share that all the projects which have come in the past 27 years, have been made possible due to his efforts only; and now Tirupur stands as a role model
among all the export hubs. If any exporter called him for any cause, he would make efforts to resolve it and call them back to inform them that their work has been done, which is a quality that needs admiration.
T.R. Sivaram, Royal Classic Mills, Tirupur Dr. A. Sakthivel and TEA have become a synonymous name in Indian apparel industry because of his consistent and dedicated efforts of past 27 years towards the benefit of export community and members of TEA. His tenure can be classified into ‘Before quota regime (15 years)’ and ‘After quota regime (12 years)’. The first period was most crucial for TEA members as all first-time exporters were taking baby steps of understanding the AEPC policy, restrictions of the importing country, international banking norms, customs procedure and so on. His support for many startup exporters are laudable and his entire tenure of past 27 years was accessible for all the members of TEA – just over a phone call or a casual personnel visit, and that too without any prior appointment.
MINDTREE QUESTION
The Cauvery water dispute issue is now more than hundred years old, but it is only recently that violence has hit Karnataka so severely. How do you see the overall impact of this development…? Do you think this situation will have a long-term impact on Bangalore’s apparel export industry, or will buyers understand that this is a temporary disruption? If you have a factory in and around Bangalore, how much loss you have noticed due to these recurring strikes?
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