The Hindu Business Line : Textile Ministry proposes additional booster dose

New Delhi, Dec. 23 The Textile Ministry has put up a proposal to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, for interest rate subvention to the textile industry and restoration of duty drawback rates for textile and clothing which the exporters already had with a view to minimising the adverse effect of demand decline in the overseas markets, the Union Textile Minister, Mr Shankersinh Vaghela, said on Tuesday here.

Addressing a news conference to highlight the Ministry’s performance in the UPA government tenure, Mr Vaghela conceded the impact of economic slowdown in US, the European Union and developed countries as a result of which export target of $25 billion including textiles and handicrafts for 2008-09 appears to be under pressure. He said the Ministry has prepared a Rs 2,600-crore scheme for handicrafts sector.

Report Card

Officials who were present said the country’s textile export performance during 2007-08 was $22.5 billion and in the first half of the current fiscal the growth in export was 11.5 per cent. However, from October the trend has been sliding and it would be good if the country maintained even the last year’s level and the target of achieving 20 per cent higher than what was achieved now looks quite difficult, they said.

Mr Vaghela said the Ministry has also sought for cotton agri-business status, besides lending rate of 7 per cent for all cotton mills with the margin money being brought down from 25 per cent to 10 per cent in a bid to help mills overcome the operational difficulties.

He said cotton production has been 31.15 million bales in the 2007-08 cotton season and it is estimated that it would set a record level of 32.2 million bales. He said the UPA Government had given a consistently good minimum support price for cotton and CCI and NAFED have been ensuring a minimum return to the farmer through procurement operations. He said the MSP for cotton season of 2008-09 has been substantially raised by 40 per cent.

Integrated Parks

Mr Vaghela also pointed out that 40 integrated textile parks which would provide employment to 9.08 lakh people and annually produce goods worth Rs 38,155 crore. Stating that the rationalisation of fiscal duties made during the last four years has provided a level playing field in all segments resulting in the holistic growth of the industry. He said investments in the industry between 2004 and 2008 were Rs 1,08,531 crore which would touch Rs 1,50,600 crore by 2012, thereby generating 17.37 million jobs by 2012.

Technical Textiles

Even as the government has set off measures to mitigate the problems of exporters and the industry, technical textiles have become an “emerging industry” with the Indian market size of technical textiles likely to jump to $12.46 billion by 2010.

He said the Government has designed Centres of Excellence for agrotech, buildtech, meditech and geotech group of technical textiles at an outlay Rs 44 crore and the Government would shortly launch an Rs 600 crore Technology Mission on Technical Textiles and create a Development Council for Technical Textiles.

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