By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 05, 2022: UNION Minister for Textiles, Commerce & Industry and  Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal,  has said that Industry and Government  are partners in India's growth story & now, is the time to be a Global Champion in Textiles by taking up bigger & bolder targets. Interacting  virtually with the leaders of Textile Industry in India, today, Goyal stated that in this period of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, we must all collectively put forth our efforts in one direction to realise our goals. Goyal asked the Textile industry to  work  for  achieving the target of  USD 100 billion exports in a quick time.

Thanking the Pime Minister Narendra Modi  and  Finance Minister for the decision to defer the increase of tax slab from 5% to 12%  for Textiles, taken in the 46th meeting of GST council, Goyal said that this is a new year gift for the Textile Industry. He added that  the requests of industry stakeholders was considered in present challenging times when the sector is on the path of recovery.  He also expressed his gratitude to  the textiles leaders who remain   connected   with  the  Ministry  with all their  grievances regarding raising the GST slab in MMF segment.

The Minister  enumerated  and suggested the steps of Vikas and Aatmanirbharta. Referring to PLI Scheme for Textiles, he said that PLI  will increase the global footprint of India in MMF & Technical Textiles. He said  Rs 10,683 cr scheme  will create 7.5 Lakhs direct Jobs. He said  approval for 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile Region & Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks  will attract cutting edge technology, investment & generate - 1 Lakh direct & - 2 lakh indirect employment per park.

Goyal stated that continuation of RoSCTL scheme up to Mar 2024 will boost export competitiveness. He said RoDTEP for Textiles Products other than Apparel & Made Ups  have been covered in RoSCTL.  Removal of Anti Dumping Duty on several key raw material e.g. PTA, Viscose Staple Fibre, Acrylic, Nylon is a  boost to man made fibre based textiles industry, he added.

The Minister mentioned that government is  trying to get new markets for textiles through FTA. He informed  that in all the ongoing negotiations with major countries like UK, UAE, Canada, EU, Australia there is a special focus on getting concessional duties for Textile products.  Talking about SAMARTH Scheme, the Minister said that  71 textile manufacturers, 10 industry associations, 13 state govt agencies & 4 sectoral  organisations on-boarded to help skill development & training of ~3.45 lakh beneficiaries. Steps have been taken to on-board weavers on GeM  platform to enable them to sell their products directly to  Govt,  ~1.50 Lakh weavers on-boarded, he added. Under Concessional Credit/Weaver MUDRA Scheme, for financial assistance, Goyal said that Margin money assistance @20% of loan amount, (max Rs 25,000) per weaver & @ 20% of loan amount, (max Rs 20 lakh) per handloom organization is provided.

Goyal  further  said that robust export numbers helping us realise the dream of "Local goes Global; Make in India for the world".  He informed that textiles export increased by 45%, to USD16.7 bn in Apr-Nov 2021 w.r.t same period in Apr-Nov 2019.

Referring to the challenging times of COVID pandemic, the Minister said that   we have suffered losses but we have also learned many lessons. He said, "The wise learn many things, even from difficult situations". We have converted the crisis into an opportunity, he added.