Tiruppur, once the thriving export hub of Tamil Nadu, is fraying at edges

GST glitches are crimping working capital supply and adding to the difficulties of competing against nimble, low-cost competitors in other countries

The hiring signs outside Tiruppur's garment factories, until recently a source of prosperity, have been replaced by ones saying “To let” and “Up for sale”, leaving no doubt about the distress in this once-thriving export hub of Tamil Nadu.

Trouble in the state’s garment industry, brewing for years because of competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam, has worsened owing to technical and policy on refund problems with the goods and services tax (GST) and the inability of manufacturers to innovate.

Exports have been on a steady decline in recent years. They dropped to Rs 24,000 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 26,000 crore in