The Centre is giving a push to the textile and clothing industry to leverage the traditional strengths in the man-made fibre (MMF) sector, Minister of State for Textiles and Railways Darshana Vikram Jardosh said on Wednesday. The focus would be on manufacturing, infrastructure, technology, innovation, and skills, she added.
Inaugurating a virtual conference on ‘$450 billion Global MMF Textiles Trade: Growth Beacon for the Indian Textile Industry’, organised by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), the Minister said India had a long way to go to emerge as a leading manufacturer of MMF textile products globally. While the industry would face stiff competition from established players in the sector - China, Taiwan, South Korea, etc., increasing labour and manufacturing costs in these countries would give ample opportunities for Indian players. The Indian industry could attract global investments to produce high value-added MMF products.
Industry captains should give thrust to the MMF sector by investing in it and taking maximum advantage of schemes such as Production Linked Incentive, PM MITRA, etc. “It will not only increase India’s share in the global trade but also provide huge employment opportunities for the Indian youth,” she said.
The Textiles Secretary Upendra Prasad Singh said the world was adopting China+1 policy and it was the right time for the Indian textile manufacturers to boost the trade of MMF products. The Centre was aware of the issues of the MMF Sector. However, it would only adopt the right policy measures keeping in view the interests of the larger segment.
T. Rajkumar, chairman of the Confederation, urged the Centre to bring the entire MMF value chain under 5% GST to address the issue of inverted duty structure and also sought schemes for the production and development of MMF raw-materials similar to that of natural fibres.
