During a meeting with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Saturday, industry bodies sought an increase in various subsidies, and also pressed for parity in benefits with other states.
The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) proposed that benefits given by the state under the new Textile Policy should be at par with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and other states, and by neighbouring countries.
“This will ensure that capital does not flow out of our state to other states,” the apex industry outfit said. It pressed for a higher capital subsidy, interest subsidy, and power subsidy for spinning, weaving, processing, and garments units under the new policy.
The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SGCCI) also pressed for parity in benefits with other states.
“If we want to ensure that Gujarat remains the textile hub, we must provide adequate support to the industry. The government should try to ensure that there is no inter-state competition. For instance, Maharashtra is offering power tariff of Rs 3.50 per unit for weaving units, while in Gujarat it is over Rs7. Even otherwise, there is a difference of Rs 2 per unit. This needs to be addressed,” Mehta said.
He pointed out that there is a cap of Rs 25 lakh on capital subsidy in Gujarat, but not in other states. Similarly, he demanded that interest subsidy be hiked to 7% from existing 5%.
“Equally importantly, the subsidy should be paid in time,” he said.
Among other demands, GCCI sought subsidy for setting up common effluent treatment plants near Ahmedabad and Rajkot, and various relaxations in subsidy norms for expansion of textile units, and support for backward/forward integration.
“Level playing field should be given to existing units. The policy should give equal opportunity to investments in new and existing units. Since growth is a continuous process, the policy should allow all new investments made from time-to-time by existing units, without having restricting provisions such as percentage growth,” GCCI said in a representation.
The industry body pointed out that garments segment was feeling lack of support from the government, and sought various benefits for it. It also said that the government should encourage and provide support to companies like Walmart and Marks & Spencer, and major textile brands to set up their buying houses in Gujarat.

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