$48 bn textile exports target looks hard to achieve: Govt

Government today admitted it may be "hard to achieve" the $48 billion target for textiles and garment exports for 2016-17, mainly because of less demand in major markets such as the US, EU and China.

The overall exports of textiles and garments from India during 2015-16 was $40 billion, falling way short of the $47.5 billion target.

Asked whether the target would be "hard to achieve" due to less demand from China, US and EU, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani replied in the affirmative.

Elaborating upon measures being taken by the government to attain the goal, the Minister, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said that to promote exports in garments sector, a special package of incentives was announced in June this year which includes relaxation in certain labour laws, income tax concession, 100 per cent employer's contribution to EPFO by government, rebate of state levies for exports, etc.

Moreover, the government implements various export promotion schemes to promote exports of all the segments in the sector on a sustained basis, Irani said.

"These include, Interest Equalisation Scheme, Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, Market Access Initiative, Market Development Assistance and Duty Drawback," she said.