The Union Government is expected to release new schemes for powerloom sector in April next year and the demands of the industry will be considered in it, said Ravi Capoor, the Textiles Secretary, here recently.
The secretary visited some of the powerloom and knitwear clusters in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts on Wednesday and Thursday and interacted with the stake holders.
At Somanur in Coimbatore district, Mr. Capoor visited half a dozen powerloom units, including a modern unit and one that operates on solar power. In his interaction with the weavers, he assured them of addressing their demands in the new textile policy to be released next year, said the weavers in Somanur.
The weavers demanded control on fabric imported from Bangladesh, relaxation in varieties reserved for weaving in handlooms, and imposing restrictions on varieties that can be woven in modern looms. The industry representatives also explained the reasons on why the PowerTex India scheme did not take off. They appealed to the Secretary to extend the scheme for two more years so that more powerlooms are modernised and increase in installed capacity to get subsidy for solar panels to be used by powerloom units.
In Tiruppur, Mr. Capoor visited garment production and textile processing units, common effluent treatment plant, and NIFT TEA Institute. The industry sought Government support to create infrastructure for workers and have a research facility for knitwear sector. He discussed with the industry representatives the ground realities and challenges faced by the industry, say sources in the sector.
