In a landmark move to bolster India's textile industry, Union Textile Minister Giriraj Singh inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology (IIHT) in Phulia, Nadia district, West Bengal, on Sunday. The cutting-edge facility, sprawling across 5.38 acres and built at a cost of Rs 75.95 crores, is poised to revolutionize textile education and industry in the region.
VISION FOR 2030: $300 BILLION INDUSTRY & 60 MILLION JOBS Giriraj Singh emphasized the government's ambitious vision of expanding the Indian textile industry to a $300 billion (₹25.74 lakh crore) market by 2030, generating employment opportunities for over 60 million people. Addressing the gathering, he stated, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the textile sector is witnessing unprecedented growth. We are committed to scaling new heights and positioning India as a global textile hub.”
Source: Asia netnews
e government plans to boost exports of goods and services to USD 2 trillion by 2030. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal mentioned efforts addressing exporter concerns and leveraging India's strengths. Despite global challenges, 2024-25 exports are projected to exceed USD 800 billion. A comprehensive export strategy is being developed to support growth. The government is working on an export strategy to further accelerate the country's goods and services shipments, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said. He said the ministry is working on a "very" targeted manner to take the exports to USD 2 trillion by 2030 by addressing concerns of exporters and identifying areas of India's competitive advantages and strengths. "Export of both goods and services are doing good despite global challenges... We are working on an export strategy to see how we can fast track growth of exports of both goods and services," Goyal told PTI. In 2024-25, the exports are expected to cross USD 800 billion. It was USD 778 billion in the previous scal year. Asked about his expectations from the forthcoming Budget for exports, the minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been "very" supportive of the exporting community. "I am sure the Prime Minister and the nance minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) will always be proactive to support our exports," he said. On concerns of exporters with regards to declining export credit and high interest rates, Goyal said the ministry is looking at these issues holistically and are engaged with the stakeholders concerned. "We are continuously looking at working with the banking system and the ECGC (Eport Credit Guarantee Corporation) to nd solutions to these concerns of exporters," he said. According to the Federation of India Export Organisations (FIEO), there was a decline of 5 per cent in export credit between March 2022 (Rs 2,27,452 crore) and March 2024 (Rs 2,17,406 crore). The apex exporters' body has urged the government to extend the interest equalisation scheme to help exporters deal with issues at the liquidity front. The minister said they are discussing the issue of revamping special economic zones (SEZs) with all stakeholders as well as SEZ units. "And I am sure a holistic solution will come out to address the concerns of SEZs very soon," he said. On concerns of dumping of goods from China, he asked the industry to immediately approach the ministry's arm DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) if they face unfair competition due to a surge in imports. "India will not allow any dumping. We will be proactive in our measures," he added.
Source: Economic Times
Synopsis Senior officials from the commerce ministry and Indian Missions of 20 countries will hold a three-day meet to discuss ways to promote exports of goods and services. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will engage with commercial representatives on January 6. The discussions will focus on opportunities, challenges, and strategy for six key product categories to 20 focus countries. New Delhi: Senior official from the commerce ministry, and commercial wings of Indian Missions of 20 countries will hold a three-day meet, beginning here on Monday, to discuss ways to promote exports of goods and services, an official said. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will also interact with these commercial representatives on January 6. The issues, which would come up during the three-day celebration included opportunities and challenges and the way ahead in six focus sectors (of goods and services each) in 20 countries of significance; non-tari barriers; logistics; WTO (world Trade Organisation) matters; and role and importance of MAI (market access initiative), the official said. The commerce ministry is in the process of formulating a strategy to push exports of six key product categories, including engineering goods and electronics, to 20 focus countries, including the US, Australia, France, China, Russia, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia. These countries, including the US and the European Union nations, account for a major chunk of India's total exports. Besides Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Amardeep Singh Bhatia would also address the officials. After recording double-digit growth in October 2024, India's exports in November contracted 4.85 per cent year-on-year to USD 32.11 billion, while the trade deficit widened to an all-time high of USD 37.84 billion due to record surge in gold imports. According to the commerce ministry data, imports rose 27 per cent year-on year to a record USD 69.95 billion in November due to high inbound shipments of vegetable oil, fertiliser, and silver. Cumulatively, during April-November this scale year, exports increased 2.17 per cent to USD 284.31 billion and imports by 8.35 per cent to USD 486.73 billion. Trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports, during April November widened to USD 202.42 billion from USD 170.98 billion during April-November 2023. Barthwal said last month that the ministry is focusing on 20 countries and six services and manufacturing sectors including IT/ITeS to further boost the shipments. Services exports reached an all-time high of USD 34.31 billion in October, registering an increase of 22.3 per cent year-on-year.
Source: Economic Times
The textile and apparel industry expects the budget to reduce import duties on raw materials as it aims to become a $350-billion market by 2030, including $100 billion in exports.
Industry groups are also lobbying for a direct benefit transfer (DBT) system for cotton farmers and tax incentives to exporters. The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has urged the government to cut basic customs duties on key raw materials such as man-made fibres (MMF), filaments and chemicals such as purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG).
High tariffs inflate production costs, putting Indian manufacturers at a disadvantage compared with competitors such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, which enjoy duty-free imports. “Expensive raw materials weaken the cost competitiveness of Indian textile products,” said a CITI official. “Reducing import duties is crucial to achieving the sector’s ambitious growth targets.” The CITI has proposed replacing the current minimum support price (MSP) procurement model with a DBT system. Under the plan, farmers would sell cotton at market prices, with the government transferring the price difference to their accounts if prices fall below MSP. The textile and apparel industry expects the budget to reduce import duties on raw materials as it aims to become a $350-billion market by 2030, including $100 billion in exports. Industry groups are also lobbying for a direct benefit transfer (DBT) system for cotton farmers and tax incentives to exporters. The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has urged the government to cut basic customs duties on key raw materials such as man-made fibres (MMF), filaments and chemicals such as purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG). High tariffs inflate production costs, putting Indian manufacturers at a disadvantage compared with competitors such as Bangladesh and Vietnam, which enjoy duty-free imports. “Expensive raw materials weaken the cost competitiveness of Indian textile products,” said a CITI official. “Reducing import duties is crucial to achieving the sector’s ambitious growth targets.” The CITI has proposed replacing the current minimum support price (MSP) procurement model with a DBT system. Under the plan, farmers would sell cotton at market prices, with the government transferring the price difference to their accounts if prices fall below MSP. The CITI has suggested a cotton price stabilisation fund, which would offer loans to mills at reduced interest rates, extend credit periods and lower margin money requirements. The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has also called for significant tax incentives in the upcoming budget, set to be presented on February 1 by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “High import duties on machinery hurt India’s competitiveness against countries such as Bangladesh and Vietnam,” said AEPC chairman Sudhir Sekhri. “Reducing these duties to zero would enhance efficiency and output.”
Source: Telegraph India
Synopsis Currently, only micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) benefit from incentives under the Interest Equalisation Scheme. However, these benefits are capped at Rs 50 lakh against Rs 10 crore earlier. Most of the goods they make are labour intensive. NEW DELHI: The upcoming budget is likely to give a boost to exports of value-added products, especially those that are not labour intensive, by offering them rupee export credit at competitive rates. Currently, only micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) benefit from incentives under the Interest Equalisation Scheme. However, these benefits are capped at Rs 50 lakh against Rs 10 crore earlier. Most of the goods they make are labour intensive. Otherwise, the benefits for 410 products, called tari lines in trade parlance, ended on December 31. “The number of products which get the interest equalisation benefits may be reduced overall and a greater emphasis could be given to value-added products,” said an official. The budgetary allocation for the scheme was Rs 3,488 crore in FY22, Rs 3,118 crore in FY23 and Rs 2,932 crore in FY24. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce her budget at the start of February She will unveil the Narendra Modi government’s economic agenda that aims to bolster growth in order to achieve the developed country goals of Viksit Bharat 2047. India is looking at sunrise sectors for exports and products such as cotton yarn and rice may be dropped from the list of those eligible for benefits to pave the way for the inclusion of value-added items, according to the official. “If the scheme is extended to the value-added segment, it will help establish the country as a brand besides leading to job creation and export promotion,” said Ajay Sahai, director general, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). Exporters have sought an extension of the scheme as goods exports contracted 4.85% in November. The scheme helps exporters from identified sectors and all MSME manufacturer-exporters to avail of rupee export credit at competitive rates at a time when the global economy is facing headwinds. The scheme is crucial as the credit cost in India is generally 5-6% more than that of other countries. FIEO has proposed that for MSMEs, the subvention applied should be 5%, against 3% now.
Source: Economic Times
Synopsis The nance ministry assures there is no concern regarding the sufficiency of the GST compensation cess fund. It is on track to meet all obligations, including back-to-back loan repayments, with a projected minor surplus by March 2026. Collections are on target, dispelling shortfall fears. New Delhi: The nance ministry Thursday said there is no cause for concern regarding the sufficiency of the and Services Tax (GST), and that the Centre is on track to meet all related compensation and repayment obligations. It said that the cess fund could generate some surplus after all obligations are met. The ministry added that the Centre remains committed to ensuring that states receive their due compensation, and that the repayment of the back-to back loans is completed in accordance with the established timelines. "It is expected that the entire loan will be repaid before March 2026, with a minor surplus projected in the cess account, which will be shared equally between the Centre and states," the nance ministry said in a written statement, responding to a report that appeared on Tuesday. The ET report had said "GST Cess May Fall Short of 1.37 L Cr by Mar 31," citing data from a submission to the parliamentary standing committee on nance. Detailing the situation with the cess, the ministry added that the budget estimates for compensation cess for the scale year are Rs 1.51 lakh crore, with collections reaching Rs 1 lakh crore by November 2024, representing 66% of the target and a 7% growth compared with last year. "This indicates that collections are on track to meet the target, dispelling concerns of a shortfall," the statement said. A significant portion of the cess is being used to repay the back-to-back loans, with ₹92,087 crore repaid in FY 2023-24 and ₹1.34 lakh crore planned for FY 2024-25, the ministry added. The compensation cess is levied on sin goods such as tobacco, aerated drinks, and some other items in the highest 28% tax bracket under GST. Proceeds from the cess are used to compensate states for any revenue loss on account of the transition to GST for five years since the rollout of the indirect tax in July 2017, as assured in the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017. The Centre has borrowed and released to states ₹1.1 lakh crore in 2020-21 and ₹1.59 lakh crore in 2021-22, after having raised the funds in back-to-back loans, to meet a part of the shortfall in cess collection. Subsequently, it extended the compensation on sin goods from July 1, 2022, to March 31, 2026, and said that the collections would be used to pay the principal and interest on the back-to-back loans taken by the Centre to compensate the states during the pandemic period. There is an additional component of ₹13,000 crore as final payment to the state, of which the Centre has disbursed ₹5,508 crore. The remaining compensation will be paid once audited accounts from six states are received, said the nance ministry.
Source: Economic Times
Synopsis Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India is increasing rapidly with investments from the Middle East, Japan, European Union, and the US. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal states this is boosting economic growth and creating jobs. The FDI inflows have grown significantly this year in various sectors, benefiting India's infrastructure, balance of payments, and the rupee value. FDI inflows into the country are surging, with investors from the Middle East, Japan, European Union, and the US recognising India's status as a top investment destination, driving rapid economic growth and generating millions of new jobs, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said. He said that global investors are showing keen interest in India as the country offers several advantages such as strong domestic market, skilled and talented workforce and rule of law. "I can clearly see FDI (foreign direct investment) in India once again growing rapidly and creating millions of jobs. Countries in the Middle East, EFTA region, Japan, and investors from the EU and the US are all realising that India continues to be the most preferred destination for FDI," Goyal told PTI. He added that India's stable and predictable regulatory framework, coupled with a favourable business environment and progressive policies aimed at enhancing ease of doing business, is attracting an increasing number of investors from around the world. "Last month I met a CEO of one of the largest funds in the US, who is also the largest investor in India, and he shared with me that his investments in India over the last 10 years have been some of the best investments his funds have ever done," he noted. The US fund, Goyal said, informed him that they are investors in India for the last 20 years, but more than 80 per cent of their investments happened in the last few years. "The CEO told me that he will be coming to India to celebrate 20 years of investing in India by announcing a further tranche of investments in India," he said. The healthy performance of the Indian stock market will also attract more and more FIIs (foreign institutional investors), the minister said. India is averaging over USD 4.5 billion in monthly foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows since January this year despite global uncertainties and challenges. In the January-September period this year, FDI into the country rose by about 42 per cent to USD 42.13 billion. The inflow was at USD 29.73 billion in the year-ago period. The inflows during April-Sept 2024-25 grew by 45 per cent to USD 29.79 billion against USD 20.48 billion in the same period previous scale. Total FDI in 2023-24 was a healthy USD 71.28 billion. The key sectors attracting the maximum of these inflows include the services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction development, automobile, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. FDI is allowed through the automatic route in most of the sectors while in areas such as telecom, media, pharmaceuticals and insurance, government approval is required for foreign investors. These inflows are important as India would require huge investments in the coming years for its infrastructure sector to boost growth. Healthy foreign inflows also help in maintaining the balance of payments and the value of the rupee.
Source: Economic Times
DHAKA – The export of home textiles is on the path to recovery after nearly one year because of the devaluation of the local currency, increased production capacity and improvement in gas supplies to some extent. Home textile exports grew by 7.85 percent year-on-year in the July-December period of the current fiscal year to $410.81 million while it was in the negative even two to three months ago. Apart from garment items, home textile is one of the three new sectors whose exports crossed $1 billion recently. The two other sectors are jute and jute goods and leather and leather goods. Home textile exports showcased strong growth of 20.47 percent year-on-year in December to reach $83.98 million, according to data from state-run Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Home textile mainly refers to carpets, rugs, floor coverings, curtains, cushion covers, napkins, towels, bedspreads, furnishing fabric, table linen, bed linen, sheets and pillowcases, blankets, shower curtains, aprons, and wallpapers. Its export fell sharply almost year-round in 2023 and 2024 as the local exporters did not book new work orders for an abnormal price hike of gas. The Bangladesh government suddenly hiked gas prices by 150.41 percent in February 2023, from Tk 11.98 per unit to Tk 30 per unit, and a good volume of work orders shifted to Pakistan. Work orders for home textile are booked for one or two seasons in bulk quantities. With the abnormal gas price increase, exporters could not manage the cost of production, and they did not run their units at full capacity and refused some work orders, which went to Pakistan.However, the devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar, increased spinning capacity and improvement in gas supplies to some extent helped pull back the business confidence of local exporters.
The shipment of home textile is also returning to its previous volumes gradually.
Also, the fall of inflation in Europe and the US has also been helping to recover home textile exports, said Md Shahidullah Chowdhury, executive director of Noman Group, which accounts for more than 70 percent of Bangladesh’s home textile exports. “We also increased our capacity to an extent with the improvement of gas supply, and exports from the company are growing now,” Chowdhury said. Last month, total home textile exports from his group reached nearly $27 million while it was worth $22 million in the previous month. He also said the gradual restoration of normalcy in Bangladesh and political unrest in Pakistan also played a role in the restoration of home textile exports. The country’s home textile exports had crossed $1 billion in FY21, registering a whopping 49.17 percent year-on-year growth. That momentum continued the following year, with exports rising by another 40-odd percent to $1.62 billion. However, the gas crisis upended that trend the following year, with home textiles fetching $1.09 billion, down by almost a third. Bangladesh was struggling to recover lost work orders in the home textile segment, a significant volume of which was shifted to Pakistan nearly two years ago. This shift occurred mainly due to the sudden doubling of gas prices in Bangladesh and significant devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar. More recently, labour unrest in industrial belts and months of political unrest in Bangladesh have contributed to lower receipts. Moreover, Pakistan possesses some inherent advantages, such as being the world’s seventh-largest producer of cotton, according to Statista. Pakistan also enjoys benefits under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) while Bangladesh only enjoys standard GSP facilities. The number of home textile mills has also increased, especially smaller units, said Monsoor Ahmed, former chief executive officer of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). For instance, previously six to seven major textile mills used to export home textile, but the number of home textile exporters is more than 25 now, including the small units, he added. Khorshed Alam, chairman of Little Group, a textile miller, said the production of home textile increased and exports also grew. At the same time, a few mills stopped production as they were losing work orders during the shifting of work orders to Pakistan. BTMA President Showkat Aziz Russell said the devaluation of the Taka against the US dollar was the main factor for the improvement in the home textile sector, which helped the exporters to be more competitive. Moreover, more than 9 million new spindles have been installed over the last few years, which boosted the production in the textile sector.
The target is to install 15 million spindles, and it is expected that the installation of more than six million more spindles can be completed by the end of this year, which will also boost the production of primary textile, including home textile, he added.
“The gas supply improved to a bit, but it is not consistent yet,” Russell said, adding that if the gas supply was restored at an adequate pressure, the primary textile sector’s investment and production would also grow.
Source: Asian News
ISLAMABAD: The country’s textile exports have witnessed a 10% increase, totalling $9.09 billion in the first half of the ongoing fiscal year (2024-25), compared to $8.29 billion during the same period in 2023-24. According to statistics provided by the All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), textile exports initially saw a 3% decline in July 2024. However, subsequent months showed positive growth, with August rising by 13%, September by 18%, October by 13%, November by 11%, and December by 6%. Jul-Nov FY25: Textile group exports up 10.51pc to $7.607bn YoY. “During the first half of FY25, exports grew by 10% compared to the first six months of FY24. However, the current fiscal year shows a 3% decline in exports compared to FY22, “ APTMA reported, referring to its role as a major stakeholder in the textile industry. In FY22, the textile sector’s total exports for the first six months amounted to $9.38 billion, followed by $8.72 billion in FY23. The textile exports in December of previous years were $1.62 billion in 2022, $1.36 billion in 2023, $1.40 billion in 2024, and $1.48 billion in 2025. The government introduced a Winter Incentive Package in December 2024, set to run through February 2025, with approval from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The government remains hopeful that if this initiative proves successful, the IMF will be requested for grant of extension for the program. APTMA is also actively engaging with the government on multiple fronts to secure greater benefits for the textile sector, aiming to further stimulate export growth. Additionally, the association is urging the government to reduce policy rates, striving to bring them into single digits.
Source: B Recorder
