Ashwin Chandran, Chairman and Managing Director of Precot Limited, has assumed office as the new Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) from 18th September 2025. He succeeds Rakesh Mehra, whose term ended following the conclusion of CITI’s 67th annual general meeting.
Alongside Chandran’s appointment, CITI named Dinesh Nolkha, Chairman and Managing Director of Nitin Spinners Ltd., as Deputy Chairman, and Shreyaskar Chaudhary, Managing Director of Pratibha Syntex Ltd., as Vice Chairman.
Chandran, who heads one of India’s leading cotton mills operating across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, has previously served as Chairman of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) and is also a member of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL). He brings to the role extensive experience in the textile value chain.
Nolkha, who will serve as Deputy Chairman, leads Bhilwara-based Nitin Spinners, one of India’s largest producers of cotton yarn, blended yarn, knitted fabrics and finished woven fabrics. A former President of the Mewar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he has also chaired the Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA), bringing a strong research and development perspective to the CITI leadership.
Chaudhary, the new Vice Chairman, heads Madhya Pradesh-based Pratibha Syntex, India’s first Fair Trade Certified apparel manufacturing factory and the country’s first Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) certified apparel manufacturer. With a background in textile technology from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), UK, Chaudhary has overseen Pratibha Syntex’s pioneering initiatives in sustainability and ethical manufacturing.
Outlining his priorities as Chairman, Chandran said there were both immediate and longer-term goals. He emphasised that the urgent priority was to address the impact of the 50% tariff imposed by the United States — India’s single largest market for textile and apparel exports — on Indian products. He noted that CITI would work closely with government and industry stakeholders to mitigate the effects of this measure, which he described as a grave challenge to the sector.
Looking ahead, Chandran stressed the importance of futureproofing the textile and apparel industry, particularly its micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to enhance global competitiveness. He identified innovation, sustainability, skill development, capacity building and knowledge sharing as central to building resilience and growth. By strengthening these areas, he argued, Indian enterprises would be better positioned to expand both domestically and internationally, while taking full advantage of existing and upcoming free trade agreements.
Chandran reaffirmed that CITI remained fully committed to being a significant contributor to the government’s Viksit Bharat mission.
India has set ambitious targets of building a domestic textile industry worth US $ 250 billion by 2030 and more than doubling textile and apparel exports to US $ 100 billion in the same period.
