Stating that the UPA government was working on a package for powerloom and silk sectors, Commerce and Textile Minister Anand Sharma announced that the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) for the textile sector would be continued in the XII Plan with an allocation of Rs.15,886 crore.
Talking to journalists after inauguration of ‘Tex Trends India 2012’ here, Mr. Sharma said a decision had been taken to continue with TUFS in the XII Plan with an estimated outlay of about Rs.15,886 crore. The outlay for TUFS in the XI Plan was Rs.12,000 crore. Under the scheme, government provides subsidies to the industry for modernisation by installing new machinery and adopting upgraded technology. It is a very popular scheme among the textiles segments such as spinning, cotton ginning and pressing, garments and weaving.
Mr. Sharma said the government was concerned over the developments in the powerloom and silk sectors, and , hence, was working on financial packages for these sectors.
The industry has been hit by high raw material prices, high interest rates, besides demand slowdown in major markets such as Europe and the U.S..
The government had announced a Rs.35,000-crore debt restructuring package for the ailing textile industry which has been faced with massive unemployment and shutdown of business. “We are looking at all issues of the industry, including the restructuring package which has been worked out after discussions with the stakeholders of the industry, Finance Ministry and the RBI. It will be implemented in a time-bound manner,’’ Mr. Sharma said.
However, he urged the exporting community to tap new markets such as Latin America and Africa. “The first quarter has been fairly disappointing not only for us, but for the entire world. I remain optimistic that in the remaining three quarters we all will work together to achieve our targets which are moderate considering the size of our economy,’’ he said.
