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Rajya Sabha
Shri Shankersinh Vaghela, Minister of Textiles informed the Rajya Sabha today that India’s readymade garments, including shawls/knitwear, are exported to more than hundred countries of the world. The USA, EU Member States, U.A.E., Japan, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Australia have been the major importing countries of our readymade garments.
The Government has taken a number of steps from time to time to boost exports of textiles, including readymade garments in the post-quota era. Some of these steps are:
i) 100% Foreign Direct Investment is allowed in the textiles sector under the automatic route.
ii) The Government has de-reserved the readymade garments, hosiery and knitwear from the SSI sector.
iii) The Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) has been made operational from 1-4-1999 to facilitate the modernization and upgradation of the sector.
iv) To improve the productivity and quality of cotton, Government has launched Technology Mission on Cotton (TMC). The mission comprises four mini-missions, which are being jointly implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Textiles. One of the important ingredients of the Mission is to improve cotton processing facilities by upgrading/modernizing the existing ginning and pressing facilities and setting up of new market yards/improvement of existing market yards.
v) The Government has launched a centrally sponsored scheme titled “Apparel Park for Export Scheme” for imparting focused thrust for setting up of apparel manufacturing unit of international standards at potential growth centres to give fillip to exports.
vi) For upgrading infrastructure facilities at important textile centres, a scheme titled “Textile Centre Infrastructure Development Scheme” (TCIDS) has been launched.
vii) The fiscal duty structure has been generally rationalized to achieve growth and maximum value addition within the country. Except the mandatory excise duty on man-made filament yarns and man-made staple fibres, the whole value addition chain has been given excise exemption option.
viii) The imports of specified textiles and garment machinery items has been allowed at concessional rate of customs duty to encourage investments and to make out textile products competitive in the global market. The cost of machinery has also been reduced through fiscal policy measures.
ix) Duty-free imports of 21 items of trimmings and embellishment items are allowed to the garment exporters, upto 3% of their actual export performance during the previous year.
x) National Institute for Fashion Technology (NIFT), its six branches and Apparel Training & Design Centre (ATDCs) are running various courses/programmes to meet skilled manpower requirements of textile industry especially apparel in the field of design, merchandising and marketing.
xi) Facilities by way of eco-testing laboratories have been created to enable exporters to get the garments/textiles pre-tested for conforming to the requirements of importing countries.
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