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Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Finnish Ambassador meets CM; cooperation in startup, skilling, education, renewable energy discussed
Finland's Ambassador to India, Kimmo Lähdevirta, on Tuesday paid a courtesy visit to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, during which the two sides expressed eagerness for cooperation in various sectors like startups, skilling, education, renewable energy and sustainability, an official release from the Chief Minister's Office stated. Finland's Embassy in India on Monday opened an Honarary Consulate in Ahmedabad even as it has appointed noted businessman from Ahmedabad and vice president of Arvind Limited, Kulin Lalbhai, as its Honorary Consul of India. The Finnish Ambassador, along with a high-level delegation and Lalbhai, also held a meeting with CM Patel. As per the release, CM Patel expects that Finland goes forward in the fields of green energy, renewable energy, and energy storage. Additional Chief Secretary to the CM, M K Das; Principal Secretary (Industries and Mines) Mamta Varma; and Industries Commissioner P Swaroop were also present at the meeting.
Indian Express
9 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
India and EU committed to having Free Trade Agreement by end of this year, says Finnish envoy
Leaders on the Indian side and European side are now committed to the goal of having a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of this year and there is a good chance that this goal can be achieved, said Finland's Ambassador to India Kimmo Lähdevirta here on Monday. The Finnish Ambassador made these remarks while inaugurating the Finnish embassy's Honorary Consulate in Gujarat at Arvind Limited's Corporate Office in Ahmedabad city's Naroda. Vice president of Arvind Limited, Kulin Lalbhai, who has been appointed as the Honorary Consul of Finland was also present on the occasion. After inaugurating the Honorary Consulate, the Finnish ambassador interacted with media persons. When asked about the recent visit of a delegation of the European Union (EU), prospects of FTA between India and EU and how soon could it be concluded, Lähdevirta said, 'It really was historic. The whole collegium of the EU Commission visited India. It was a historic visit. I think it also created good momentum for the negotiations to go ahead. I think both leaders — on the European and Indian side are now committed to the goal of having an agreement by the end of this year. Of course, it still requires a lot of work. But I do believe that there is a good chance that this goal can be achieved…at the moment, I would say that the momentum and prospects are very good.' In a brief speech after inaugurating the Honorary Consulate, Lähdevirta said, 'Last year Finland and India celebrated 75 years of diplomatic relations, and Finns have been present in India for at least as long as that even longer actually. Many Finnish companies have established their presence here in India, collaborating, manufacturing and innovating for decades with Indian partners, and they are here to stay.' 'The decision to open our Honorary Consulate here is a reflection of the deepening Finnish–Indian partnership, and growing business interest. Finnish companies are contributing to the state's growth and development goals through world-class technologies, sustainable solutions, and investments,' he added. 'In Gujarat, our cooperation has traditionally focused on energy, but today, Finnish companies are engaged across multiple sectors: clean energy, circular economy, skilling, smart infrastructure, and sustainable design. And Gujarat – with its world-class infrastructure, business-friendly environment, and innovation-oriented institutions – offers an ideal environment for these collaborations to flourish,' he further added. According to the Finnish ambassador, there are over 100 companies operating in India and about 10 of them are active in Gujarat. He also said that the overall annual trade between India and Finland is around three billion Euros which includes trade in goods and services. He added that Finland's export to India is more on the goods side and India's export to Finland is more on the services side. He invited the people of Gujarat to 'visit, explore and invest in Finland'. In the context, he also said that Finland is going to organise a roadshow in Helsinki next autumn to let people know about current India as well. He said that Finland wants to attract Indian students and healthcare personnel. Speaking on the occasion, Kulin Lalbhai said, 'With this sort of opportunity and platform… of being a part of a dialogue with a country as exciting as Finland, it personally also projects an opportunity for me to get new exposure and try and contribute to this great relationship. And as Honorary Consul, there will be multiple things that I hope to work on. One of course is to bring Finnish companies and companies here together. It's a complementary economy, skill sets that we can bring together. We have started meeting many companies one on one and we hope to deepen these relationships and bring a lot of positives to both sides of the equation.' In reply to a question, Lalbhai said that there are more than 20,000 Indians who are living in Finland and over 20 Indian companies have established operations there.
India Gazette
21 hours ago
- Business
- India Gazette
India, Finland have very good relationship, concentrating on developing good sides on ties: Finland envoy
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], June 9 (ANI): Lauding ties between Finland and India, Finland's Ambassador to India, Kimmo Lahdevirta, said on Monday that the two nations share a 'very good relationship' and are focused on developing the good sides of the ties. Speaking to ANI, he said, 'We have a very good relationship. Last Year, we celebrated already 75 years of diplomatic relations. We don't have any problems and we are concentrating on developing the good sides on the relationship, which I do feel mutually beneficial in many ways.' His remarks came as the Honorary Consulate of Finland was inaugurated in Ahmedabad on Monday. Kulin Lalbhai, a business leader based in Gujarat, has been appointed as the Honorary Consul of Finland in Ahmedabad. On cooperation between India and Finland, Lahdevirta said, 'We have certain let's say niche areas in Finland like telecommunications, also sustainability energy transition where we do have considerable expertise and I think there the potential for corporation is very good also. Finland is not only four its innovation and education for examples and they do have cooperation regarding start four examples and also between between educational institution I think they are very promising field as well.' He condemned terrorism and said that nations have right and duty to protect their citizens. On India's fight against terrorism, he said, 'Finland condemns terrorism, and I think we agree that all the countries have the right and duty to protect its citizens.' He emphasised that India can make good progress in the technology sector and spoke about how leading Finnish firms like Nokia operate here in India. On cooperation between India and Finland in the technology sector, he stated, 'Thats another area where I think India can make great progress and where we see very good potential. We have of course leading companies like Nokia already operating here in India not just manufacturing but also in research and development and the universities and other institutions are really the cutting edge. So, there is a very good potential for cooperation.' Vice Chairman of Arvind Limited, Kulin Lalbhai, who has been appointed as Finland's Consul General in Ahmedabad, stated that the opening of an honorary consulate will increase Finland's presence in Gujarat. Speaking to ANI, he said, 'I think the opening of an honorary consulate will definitely increase Finland's presence in Gujarat. Finland has identified that Gujarat and its economy are very important, and by opening this consulate, we will increase our connections. As an honorary consul for Gujarat, my focus will be on how to bring Finland and Gujarati companies together, how we will build partnerships. Similarly, how to bring our educational institutions together, how to increase R&D, and how to bring startups together and create more innovation. We will focus on how to increase this people-to-people exchange and how to benefit both economies.' He also talked about how they will work on increasing collaboration between universities of Ahmedabad and Finland. He said, 'We can work on how we can increase the collaboration between universities of two sides. How we can create joint R&D between their universities and universities of Ahmedabad, how we can increase student exchange, joint programme between universities of two to increase skilling, which is a focus in Finland. So, these are the areas where we can focus in education sector.' He expressed hope that the increase in exchange will have more presence, partnerships and there will be collaboration between the two sides in sustainability, innovation, circular economy, clean energy, AI and robotics. Kulin Lalbhai said, 'Over 10 Finnish companies operate in Gujarat, more than 20 companies are in Finland. We hope that the increase in exchange will have more presence, partnerships and the areas of innovation, sustainability, circular economy, clean energy, AI, robotics, in all these areas where Finland is very strong, we should increase collaboration in the areas and it will be beneficial for both sides will be focus.' In a Finnish Embassy in India press release on June 6, Kimmo Lahdevirta stated, 'This is an important moment for Finland-India relations.' He further stated, 'Gujarat's leadership in industrial development, sustainability, and digital innovation makes it a natural partner for Finland. The opening of the new Honorary Consulate reflects our commitment to deepening regional collaboration in India.' (ANI)
Fashion United
6 days ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Fashion for good and Arvind limited partner to create more sustainable textile factories in India
Fashion for Good, the global innovation platform with a hub in Amsterdam, launched a project for more sustainable textile production in India, in partnership with Arvind Limited, one of India's largest textile manufacturers. The joint initiative, called Future Forward Factories , focused on making textile factories more sustainable. The project consisted of two main components: the development of a blueprint for sustainable textile production and, secondly, the construction of a physical factory in India in which these innovative processes would be applied. The factory could emit up to 93 percent fewer greenhouse gases than conventional production processes, according to the press release. India is a key country for the production and export of textiles and clothing. It is among the largest players in the global textile industry and has an extensive infrastructure for the production of yarns, fabrics and garments. With millions of people working in the sector, India forms an essential hub within the global fashion chain – particularly in the Tier two factories, where dyeing, washing and other processing operations take place. It is precisely these factories that account for a large proportion of the industry's environmental impact. 'With Future Forward Factories, we took decisive action to catalyse transformation through both knowledge sharing and practical implementation,' said Katrin Ley, managing director of Fashion for Good. 'By developing a blueprint and, together with Arvind, building a factory that addresses Tier two challenges – where a large proportion of CO₂ emissions, water and chemical use takes place – we demonstrated that large-scale change is possible.' Arvind Limited is one of India's largest textile manufacturers, with 42,000 employees. The company is known as a pioneer in more sustainable production processes. For example, Arvind worked on improved water management through waterless applications and technological applications that reduce chemicals during the clothing production process. Punit Lalbhai, Executive Vice Chairman of Arvind Limited, shared in the press release: 'As a leader in the textile sector, Arvind is committed to developing sustainable production practices. With both a blueprint and an innovative facility, we wanted to show that these technologies are applicable at scale.' The initiative officially launched during the Global Fashion Summit 2025 in Copenhagen. Future Forward Factories also called on other suppliers to participate. The blueprint is open-source. This means that it can be further adapted in collaboration. The open-source blueprint was made public in September 2025. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EXCLUSIVE: Arvind, Fashion for Good's ‘Near-Carbon-Neutral' Factory Initiative Seeks to Break Industry Paralysis
What will it take for low-impact textile manufacturing innovation to operationalize and scale beyond the 'blah blah blah' of good intentions but lethargic action that has locked the industry in action-plan paralysis? Arvind Limited and Fashion for Good want to find out. The Indian production giant and the Amsterdam innovation platform are at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen this week to solicit support for a new double-pronged initiative, dubbed Future Forward Factories India. More from Sourcing Journal 'The Buyer is God': How Unfair Purchasing Practices Occur 'With Impunity' in India's Garment Industry Labor Department, Which 'Ridiculed Supporting Worker Rights Abroad,' Responds to ILAB Lawsuit Shein's Climate Ambitions Have Been Validated. Now What? Its first part is something the sector is familiar with: an open-source blueprint featuring a portfolio of best-in-class technologies and emergent-but-tested solutions that could collectively slash greenhouse gas emissions at Tier 2 material production by as much as 93 percent. The second, perhaps less so. Arvind and Fashion for Good want to build a demonstration plant that would bring them jointly online, validating not only their environmental benefits but—more important, especially in these cash-strapped times—their business case. The idea, said vice chairman Punit Lalbhai, who oversees Arvind's textile, advanced materials, engineering and agriculture division, is to pivot away from pushing individual technologies' adoption to creating a bundled 'end-to-end concept' that can then be replicated by other suppliers looking to retrofit an existing facility or build one from scratch. Zeroing in on the second tier made easy sense because it's also the highest source of energy, chemical and water use. Emissions-wise, it accounts for 55 percent of the value chain's total pollution, according to numbers crunched by the Apparel Impact Institute. Despite its outsized attention, Tier 1's finished goods assembly, in contrast, contributes only 9 percent. 'I think nothing works better than seeing it with your own eyes and actually experiencing all the value creation that is promised,' Lalbhai said. 'Many of these concepts are innovations. And innovations, by their very nature, are inherently risky to some extent until you know they are proven at scale in real-world conditions without the safety net of small-scale pilot sponsorship.' The dearth of end-to-end demonstration that matches disruptive machinery with the energy transition is one of the reasons the industry gets stuck in pilot mode, said Katrin Ley, managing director at Fashion for Good. Supplying this 'missing step' could combat supplier fatigue, reduce capital and technology risk and overcome implementation challenges, she said. But there's a catch. Building the demonstration plant would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 million euros, or $34 million. Its establishment is still contingent on whether Future Forward Factories India can bridge the 25-30 percent funding gap that remains. Hence, the stumping for investors who can stoke the efforts of on-the-ground partners such as Bluwin, Wazir Advisors, Grant Thornton and Sattva Consulting. Already, the program has the backing of so-called 'catalytic' funders such as the Laudes Foundation, Apparel Impact Institute and IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative. Finding more will help get the initiative over the finish line and create what Ley calls a multiplying effect that could extend beyond India. 'This is really about co-creation,' she said. 'In the past, we've talked about the issue of brands focusing on assessing suppliers, creating a plan of action, but then seeing the recommended solutions hardly implemented. We want to turn this around and start with, indeed, ambition from the supplier side, but then also to co-create this together with the brands. So both parties have to play a role in making this a reality.' The new factory is poised to save roughly 60 liters of water per kilogram of fabric while operating what Arvind and Fashion for Good say will be the industry's first 'near-carbon-neutral' textile production center. The aim is to churn out 3 million meters of fabric each month, whether natural or man-made, solid or print, knit or woven. Inefficiencies due to poor forecasting will be tackled by layering in more responsive, just-in-time manufacturing with the typical mass-scale production, which could help mitigate overproduction—another major contributor of emissions. Lalbhai estimates that it will take about a year to build, depending on where the facility will live and the type of existing utilities—ideally wind and solar—that it will be able to tap into. But they're ready to start work whenever the money to do so comes in. The blueprint has a more immutable deadline: September. Arvind and Fashion for Good aren't naming names right now but the technologies will span a gamut, from low-temperature enzyme pre-treatment to waterless dye carriers to heat and water recovery systems. Together they could drive as much as a 30 percent reduction in steam, 41 percent in water and 33 percent in electricity. Innovation will be behind the planned minimization of chemicals. A similar approach is set to improve wastewater quality so less treatment is required when it flows out of the plant. 'We have everything ready to go,' Lalbhai said. 'We have actually a few technologies coming in, irrespective of whether the funding comes or not. But we'd like to bring this life in its full completeness, so the funding is a very important piece for us to begin.' Future Forward Factories India also has a human component. A portion of the blueprint will be dedicated to helping workers achieve what is known as a 'just transition.' This means incorporating training and development in what Lalbhai described as a 'unversity-type situation' that can help upskill employees, allowing them to move into more sophisticated manufacturing jobs—or leave the textiles trade altogether. 'We are going to introduce programs that help people to go to better-earning opportunities, so that we have predictable, planned attrition with always a batch leaving and a batch coming, with the batch that's leaving at hopefully more than double the earning potential of the incoming batch,' he said. 'And I think it's also an opportunity to show how textile manufacturing, which is one of the largest employment creators in the developing world, has an opportunity to be rebranded in terms of how it's perceived as an employer.' Arvind and Fashion for Good are holding onto the hope that despite the economic tumult caused by geopolitical strife and exacerbated by President Donald Trump's whipsawing tariffs, brands remain committed to their climate targets despite the high investment costs and the less tangible payback. If nothing else, the initiative is 'super attractive' in terms of marginal abatement costs, said Ley, referring to the price of reducing one unit of carbon. The European Union's forthcoming carbon border adjustment mechanism, intended to place a fair price on the greenhouse-gas content of imported products at its border, could provide further tailwinds. While Lalbhai declined to name Arvind's buyers, only saying that it's 'very indexed' on North America, followed by Europe, the manufacturer appears on the public supplier lists of boldface names such as Gap Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Hugo Boss and Marks & Spencer. Whether it can get the buy-in it needs is now the biggest question. 'We're trying to fast-forward the pace of change,' Lalbhai said. 'I think it's extremely important that we shed this idea of incrementalism and step into something that can bring change at the pace the world needs.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
