The Interim Budget 2024 presented on Thursday saw ₹1,000 crore higher allocation for the textile and apparel sector. Of the total allocation of ₹4,392.85 crore compared with ₹3,443.09 crore last year, the Budget provided ₹600 crore for the procurement of cotton by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) under the price support scheme, though there was almost no allocation for this in the previous financial year. With a slump in cotton prices, the CCI is buying cotton from farmers in several parts of the country at the minimum support price (MSP) since the beginning of the cotton season in October 2023.
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The Budget also increased the allocations for schemes for handicraft development, the National Technical Textiles Mission, and the PM MITRA scheme.
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Though textile and apparel exports have been declining for more than a year, allocations for export promotion studies and activities was reduced to ₹5 crore from ₹59 crores in 2023-2024.
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Interim Budget 2024 | What’s in it for the textiles industry?
Meanwhile, in a separate press release, the Ministry of Textiles said the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the continuation, till March 31, 2026, of the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme for the export of apparel and garments. This will provide the stable policy regime essential for long-term planning in the textile sector.
The Cabinet had approved the scheme till the end of March 2020 and extended it till March 31, 2024. Now, it will continue for another two years. The Budget allocation for the scheme this year is ₹9,246 crore.
Welcoming the extension of the RoSCTL, the textile industry hoped the full Budget would address the need for changes in customs duties.