Textiles PLI scheme reopened; portal goes live again to invite applications

Govt reopens PLI scheme for MMF and technical textiles to attract new applicants after lukewarm response and as US tariffs threaten labour-intensive sectors

The Union Textile Ministry on Friday said it has decided to invite fresh applications under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the textiles sector, amid requests from the industry and against the backdrop of 50 per cent import tariff announced by the US. 

 

“In view of the requests from the industry stakeholders, Ministry of Textiles has decided to reopen the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme portal for inviting fresh applications from interested companies under the PLI Scheme for Textiles for MMF Apparel, MMF Fabrics and products of technical textiles,” the ministry said in a statement.

 

The application portal will remain open till August 31.

   

The announcement came at a time when the United States (US) has announced imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on India imports. While the 25 per cent tariff kicked in from August 7, the additional 25 per cent tariff will come in force from August 28.

 

Labour-intensive sectors such as textiles will be one of the worst hit sectors.

 

All terms and conditions, as notified earlier through the respective scheme guidelines, shall continue to apply for the fresh applications.

 

“The ministry urges all interested companies to take advantage of this opportunity and submit their applications within the specified period,” the statement said. 

 

The Centre has approved the PLI scheme for textiles in September 2021, with a budgetary outlay of ₹10,683 crore for a five-year period to boost the production of man-made fibre (MMF) apparel and MMF fabrics, among others.

 

So far, the Centre has approved 80 applicants under the PLI scheme for textiles. During the current financial year, the government aims to disburse ₹500 crore as incentive under the PLI scheme. Over five years, the scheme is expected to lead to fresh investments of more than ₹19,000 crore and create more than 750,000 jobs.

 

MMFs include viscose, polyester, acrylic that are made from chemicals. Technical textiles on the other hand is a new age textile that can be used for production of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, airbags, bulletproof vests, and can also be used in the sectors such as aviation, defence, infrastructure.

 

The textiles ministry had first released the guidelines of the scheme in December 2021. However, the government received 64 applications with commitments worth approximately only ₹6,000 crore. This was also because some players informed the government that they were not keen on making investments in proposed textile categories due to lack of expertise.

 

Since the launch of the scheme, the progress of the PLI scheme for textiles has been tepid. Last year, a cabinet secretary-led committee had also flagged the ‘shortfall’ in the progress in investments during the financial year 2023-24 in the three out the 14 PLI sectors, including textiles.