DISHA
DISHA- Driving industry Towards Sustainable Human Capital Advancement, the
initiative of Ministry of Textiles will encourage members to follow better
social practices, which will give them a competitive edge in the global markets
where social compliance is increasingly becoming an important buying decision.
This initiative attempts to educate apparel exporting members on a code of
ethics that covers all critical social and environmental concerns like child
labour, health and industrial safety. DISHA will not only give the opportunity
for the industry to negate international claims against child labour promotion
in the garment industry, but will also help to improve the overall image of the
industry on the global front and not the least, to win more international
business. Under the programme, root cause analysis and guidance will be given by
a team of experts as part of the capacity building programme. A toolkit will be
prepared based on the Common Compliance Code by which the enrolled units will
undergo an orientation and training program. Remediation plans will be
introduced and after monitoring the improvement, necessary certifications will
be given. There will be international agencies that will be empanelled to audit
the program.
Under the project DISHA, Rs 2 lakhs would be spent per unit, while participants would be required to contribute Rs 25,000 each. The Textiles Ministry has allocated about Rs six crore for the first year (2011-12) for the programme. In the first year, the scheme would cover 400 units in different parts of the country based on a cluster approach. The government has set a target of bringing 2,900 apparel units in the 12th Plan (2012-17) under DISHA -- a programme aimed at encouraging better social practices to meet global standards on issues like child labour. All together 775 garment manufacturers to enroll for the programme during 2012-13.
India's 14-billion US dollar apparel export sector is critical in terms of revenue and employment. Therefore, an initiative to help manufacturers focus on good work practices and prevention of child and trafficked and forced labour was the need of the hour. The move comes in the backdrop of the concerns raised by a few western countries like the US regarding usage of child labour in production of garments by some domestic units. The US and the European Union together account for 80 per cent of India’s total apparel exports.
Under the project DISHA, Rs 2 lakhs would be spent per unit, while participants would be required to contribute Rs 25,000 each. The Textiles Ministry has allocated about Rs six crore for the first year (2011-12) for the programme. In the first year, the scheme would cover 400 units in different parts of the country based on a cluster approach. The government has set a target of bringing 2,900 apparel units in the 12th Plan (2012-17) under DISHA -- a programme aimed at encouraging better social practices to meet global standards on issues like child labour. All together 775 garment manufacturers to enroll for the programme during 2012-13.
India's 14-billion US dollar apparel export sector is critical in terms of revenue and employment. Therefore, an initiative to help manufacturers focus on good work practices and prevention of child and trafficked and forced labour was the need of the hour. The move comes in the backdrop of the concerns raised by a few western countries like the US regarding usage of child labour in production of garments by some domestic units. The US and the European Union together account for 80 per cent of India’s total apparel exports.
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