The Hindu Business Line : Budget plans will spur textile sector growth to 7-8%: Maran

Exuding confidence: The Textiles Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, with the Textiles Secretary, Ms Rita Menon, at a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, July 7 The Union Textiles Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, today said the Budget proposals for the textile sector would help the industry log 7-8 per cent growth in the short- to medium-term.

Addressing newspersons on the budgetary proposals for the textile industry, Mr Maran said the growth initiatives would dovetail with the UPA Government’s Budget plan to ensure inclusive development and restore export growth.

Where there remained anomalies, he would take them up with the Finance Ministry after discussions with the industry to arrive at some modifications. He said he would take up with the Finance Ministry the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry’s (CITI) fear that the increase in the excise duty from 4 to 8 per cent would render products expensive besides raising the cost to industry. He said that he would be leading an official delegation to Japan on July 21 to bolster the export sector’s effort to diversify into new markets.

The Budget proposals should be seen with the two stimulus packages to boost exports. The Plan allocation for the Textile Ministry had been raised to Rs 4,500 crore from Rs 4,090 crore. The higher allocation of Rs 3,140 crore to the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) would spur modernisation and attract investments to the sector and clear the backlog till June 2009. He said the increased allocation of Rs 397 crore for the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) would give traction for the early completion of the projects already put up.

Referring to the setting up of five mega clusters — one for handloom each in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, and one for powerloom in Rajasthan and two for carpets in Srinagar and Mirzapur(Uttar Pradesh) — he said these clusters, on full stream, would generate 50,000 jobs and attract investments of Rs 1,400 crore.

Mr Maran said that in the coming days his Ministry would try to converge its various schemes for handloom and handicrafts and come out with announcements for empowerment of weaker sections, welfare of workers in the unorganised sector, and spurs for the growth of medium- and small-scale sector. “We have a huge task cut out before us to utilise the provisions in the Budget for making our sector go from strength to strength,” Mr Maran said.

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