India faces competition from countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which have competitive manufacturing costs and enjoy duty free access to major textiles and apparel markets like EU.
Findings of survey conducted by ITF are as under:
Textile sector is focusing on low value added products with concentration in few markets.
Lack of manpower and sufficient skills lead to higher manufacturing cost.
Global trends in fashion are towards blends.
Exports of MMF/Synthetics fibre based apparel has shown negative growth
Response of Government is as under
40% of India’s export basket comprises apparel,a finished value added product.
While traditional markets like (EU and USA) are important destinations for India’s export of textile and apparel,more than 50% of our export is to emerging markets
Government is focusing on skill development and capacity building in both unorganized and organized textile sectors through SAMARTH scheme.
To promote manufacturing and export of MMF based products, the inverted duty structure at the stage of fabric was corrected by permitting refund of unused input tax credits w.e.f. 01.08.2018. Further, to boostmanufacturing and Make in India, duty has enhanced on 298 MMF fabric lines.
To increase competitiveness of textile industry, Government announced a Special Package for garments and made ups. A key element of the package is the Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) Scheme. The RoSL scheme has now been replaced by the new Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) w.e.f 7th March 2019. Under the said scheme state and central taxes and levies which are present in the cost of exports of garments and made-ups shall be rebated through IT driven scrips issued by DGFT.
To identify issues and solutions to enhance exports, Government has regular interface with various Ministries/Departments, industry associations and Export Promotion Councils.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Textiles, SmritiZubinIrani, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
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MM/ SB