A member-driven association of power loom owners, mill operators, and textile entrepreneurs. Founded to modernise, advocate for, and globally position the city once known as Girangaon — the Mill Town of the Deccan.
Founded in 1995 by a group of young, like-minded textile industrialists, TDF exists to transform the Solapur power loom sector — from traditional practices with thin margins into a progressive, growth-oriented, globally competitive industry.
The Solapur power loom industry has a rich legacy of craftsmanship, artistic excellence, and family-run enterprise. Yet for decades it punched below its weight — not from lack of capability, but from gaps in marketing, modern management, and technological adaptation. In 1995, a group of young textile industrialists came together to do something about it, and the Textile Development Foundation was born.
Since then TDF has worked through industry interactions, seminars, symposiums, workshops, training, and exposure visits to advanced textile clusters in India and abroad. The aim has always been the same — broaden perspectives and encourage the adoption of modern technology and management techniques across member units.
In 2019, TDF took a bold step: organising an international-level exhibition in Solapur despite no air connectivity and vocal skepticism. The Vibrant Terry Towel Expo & Summit 2019 brought dignitaries, manufacturers, traders, buyers, and international delegates onto one platform. It was a turning point — Solapur went from regional mill town to recognised textile hub.
Now we move toward Vibrant Terry Towel Expo & Summit 2026 with greater confidence and ambition. The impact spills far beyond textiles — into transport, hospitality, tourism, IT and services, enriching the cultural and economic fabric of the region. The path is clear: every industrialist who engages with TDF's programmes strengthens the cluster as a whole.
From family power loom workshops in Hirachand Nagar to composite mills on the MIDC estate — our membership represents every link in Solapur's textile value chain.
An elected Board of Directors sets direction; a Working Committee of industry veterans, second-generation entrepreneurs, and technical specialists runs day-to-day policy, advocacy, and member services. Current term: 2024–2027.
Shared infrastructure that individual units could not afford alone — a testing laboratory, a design studio, a training floor, and (equally importantly) a game zone and recreational lounge where the cluster actually socialises, networks, and cuts deals over chai.
Fibre, yarn and fabric testing under IS, ISO and AATCC protocols. Bundles of raw cotton to finished terry — colour fastness, GSM, tensile strength, shrinkage, absorbency, pH.
Expos, buyer-seller meets, technical seminars, and factory visits. Members register free; the wider trade and public are warmly welcomed.
Curated reporting on GST, power tariffs, export duties, technology upgrades, and the stories of our member units. Updated weekly by the TDF secretariat.
The state cabinet's revised interest subsidy scheme — now extended to units under 25 HP — could cover nearly 82% of TDF's active membership. We break down eligibility, the application window, and the three catches that every owner should read before signing.
Solapur sits at the crossroads of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana — a 430-year-old weaving centre that became, by turns, the Deccan's mill town, India's chaddar capital, and today the world's largest terry-towel cluster outside Gujarat. Understanding the city is the first step to understanding TDF.
Founded around 1590 as a fortified garrison on the Bhima river basin, the city's name — Solapur, from the 16 villages (solah pur) that were said to have merged into it — has been recorded in Bahmani, Adil Shahi, Mughal, Nizam and Peshwa chronicles. Its fort still stands on the eastern edge of the old town.
The weaver communities — Padmashali, Koshti, Devang Sali, Sangar — arrived in successive waves from Andhra and Karnataka under Peshwa patronage between 1761 and 1790. Their chaddars, dulais, dhotis and pagotis clothed the Deccan for a century before the first composite mill arrived.
The Siddheshwar Yatra — a week-long January fair honouring the 12th-century yogi Siddharameshwar — is one of Maharashtra's largest: 800,000 pilgrims, a week of kirtan, and a rural textile market that still sets the cluster's annual pricing. Solapur is also the birthplace of Mahadaji Shinde's cavalry, Vishnubuva Brahmachari's social reform, and the nationwide 1930 martyr salute to Mallappa Dhanshetti.
Our secretariat is housed on Hotgi Road, a short walk from the MIDC estate where much of our membership operates. Walk-ins are welcome between 10:30 and 17:30 on working days.
P-28, MIDC Akkalkot Road
Near Police Thane
Solapur — 413 006
Maharashtra, India
Monday – Saturday · 10:30 – 17:30
Closed on 2nd & 4th Saturdays, public holidays
Mobile: +91 96991 23418
Email: tdf.textile@gmail.com
Prospective member units may download the application form and the current year's fee schedule from the members handbook. Processing takes 4–6 weeks after the committee's monthly sitting.
