Textile Minister wants stimulus for the sector

Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran today pitched for a stimulus package for the textiles sector, which has witnessed several job losses and negative growth owing to the slowdown in the major markets of the US and EU.

"At this point I can say that stimulus package is the need of the hour...We have to wait for a package," Maran told reporters here after meeting a delegation of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) here.

Maran, however, did not say what kind of incentives were needed to revive the sector. "Finance Minister is aware of it, Prime Minister is aware of it," he said.

He said that the industry is passing through a challenging times. "There has been negative growth in the textiles industry, due to the slowdown in the US and EU and because of high input costs," he said.

India's textile and clothing exports dipped by about 2 per cent in 2008-09 to around $22 billion.

"We need to go for short-term measures, financial relief, tax relief...So that they (the sector) come back in the main stream," Maran added.

The government had announced several steps, including additional allocation of Rs 1,400 crore towards the Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme, to stem the textiles industry which has laid off over 5 lakh people in the past few months.