Textiles sector to get relief as govt begins settling dues

In a relief to the textiles sector, government today said it has initiated the process of settlement of Rs 3,000 crore dues related to some 'blackout and left-out' cases which found no mention in the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS).
"The process of settlement of dues related to the old cases has started," Textile Secretary Rashmi Verma said.
Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Secretary General Binoy Job said the quantum of liabilities under the blackout and left-out period cases was around Rs 3,000 crore.
The settlement of the committed liabilities had been a grey area after the government did not mention anything about it when it notified ATUFS for textile sector last week.

The Union Cabinet approved the ATUFS in December in place of the Revised Restructured TUFS (RRTUFS) for technology upgradation of textile industry, a move expected to boost job creation and exports in the sector.
During 2010-11, the RRTUFS was suspended for 10 months but eventually restored as a closed-ended scheme and restricted to future sanctions and committed liabilities reported by banks for sanctions already issued.

The closed ended scheme was introduced without sufficient notice from the government for preparation on part of lending institutions, according to industry officials.
Those who had invested in those 10 months in the so- called blackout period were left out and are still awaiting a decision on the eligibility of TUF scheme.

Union Textile Minister Santosh Gangwar said the ministry may approach the Cabinet seeking approval for the much-awaited new national textiles policy that seeks to create 35 million jobs and boost exports to over USD 300 billion.
"The draft policy is ready and discussions are on. We hope to place it before the Union Cabinet in a month's time," Gangwar said at the inauguration of the India International Garment Fair (IIGF) here.
The government had earlier said the policy may be unveiled after last year's Union Budget. However, the discussions with Ministries like Finance and Labour got stuck over financial incentives and relaxation in regulations, leading to delay in framing of the policy.

The new policy aims to achieve USD 300 billion textiles exports by 2024-25 and envisages creation of additional 35 million jobs.
Keeping in view various changes in the textile industry
on the domestic and international fronts and the need for a road map for the textile & apparel industry, Ministry of Textiles had initiated the process of reviewing the National Textile Policy, 2000.
The IIGF has attracted 809 buyers from across the globe, 350 buying agents and 200 visiting buyers. There are 322 participants.
Expressing the concerns of the garment export industry, AEPC Chairman Ashok G Rajani said: "Exporters are concerned with zero duty access in EU market by Vietnam. Vietnam exports are likely to grow faster due to implementation of zero duty from 2017, even as India faces import duty of 9.6 per cent.

"Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) allows export opportunities in Vietnam to US with a benefit of 17-30 per cent export duty relief. While India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) are yet to be finalized, exporters are expecting faster conclusion of the talks so that they can compete with Bangladesh and Vietnam".
Garment exports posted a 5 per cent growth in December to USD 1.44 billion even as overall exports dipped 14.75 per cent. In the April-December 2015-16 period, exports of ready made garments increased 2.8 per cent to USD 12.47 billion.