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The country’s textiles and apparel exports stood at Rs 2,37,922 crore in 2016-17, Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Textiles and apparel exports dropped by nearly Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 2,30,056 crore in 2017-18 owing to competition from emerging economies like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which enjoy preferential duty access in key markets, the government said today.
The country’s textiles and apparel exports stood at Rs 2,37,922 crore in 2016-17, Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to another query, the minister said that during the current cotton season (October 2017 to September 2018), shipments of cotton from the country are expected to touch 70 lakh bales, registering a 20 per cent increase over the previous season.
According to Tamta, while 51.2 lakh bales have been exported up to April 30, 2018, no target as such has been set for cotton exports.
Besides, he said there is no proposal to frame a separate policy for export of cotton, as its shipments are dependent on various factors including demand and supply conditions and the ruling domestic prices vis-a-vis international prices.
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Cotton textile exporters on Tuesday urged the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to allow accumulated “Input Tax Credit” (ITC) on fabrics available with weavers as on July 31 for adjusting GST payment on outward supplies – both domestic and export.
Although the GST Council, on July 26, recommended to allow refund of unutilised ITC to taxpayers in the textiles sector, the notification had, however, also stated that the accumulated credit lying unutilised as on July 31, 2018 will lapse.
“This will lead to serious problems for the textiles sector as the costs will go up on the available stocks as on July 31, 2018,” Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) Chairman Ujwal Lahoti said in a statement.
According to Lahoti most of the dyes and chemicals, packing materials, fibre and yarn used by the textiles sector attract 12 per cent to 18 per cent GST, whereas the rate on fabrics is only 5 per cent leading to accumulated ITC on account of inverted duty structure.
The “Section 54” of the CGST Act allows “refund of unutilized Input Tax Credit shall be allowed where the credit has accumulated on account of rate of tax on inputs being higher than the rate of tax on output supplies,” the statement said.
While the government’s intention is to bring down the cost of products by providing the refund of accumulated ITC, it appears the government took the decision to make accumulated credits till July 31 null and void due to some technical reasons, Lahoti said.
“Fabric manufacturers have paid the GST on all their inward supplies – both goods and services and have legitimately taken the Input Tax Credit and, therefore, these Input Tax Credits should not be denied on fabrics by making them null and void,” he added.
The third edition of ‘Source India,’ India’s largest sourcing show for man-made fibre textile products, would be held in Surat from September 21 to 23, said Ronak Rughani, Vice-Chairman, Synthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council.
Speaking at a roadshow conducted in association with Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) here on Tuesday, Mr. Ronak said manufacturers and exporters of man-made fibre textiles, including yarns, fabrics, apparels, made-ups, home textiles, technical textiles and accessories, would be showcasing their products at Source India.
More than 200 buyers from 40 countries were expected to visit the event, expected to attract 5,000 visitors, including domestic buyers, representatives of Indian and international buying houses, procurement managers from large retail brands, sourcing agents, industry heads and business leaders, he said.
D. Jayaraman, Head-Spinning, South India Textile Research Association (SITRA), gave a presentation on ‘Market potential and emerging trends in textile trade.
The amendments were cleared in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said an official source
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved GST laws amendments which included hiking threshold limit for availing composition scheme for dealers to Rs 15 million, among other things.
The government will now table amendments to the Central GST law, Integrated GST law, Compensation Cess law in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
GST laws amendments have been cleared, an official source said after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In all, there are 46 amendments, which among other things, will allow employers to claim input tax credit on facilities like food, transport and insurance provided to employees under any law.
It also provides for modification of reverse charge mechanism, separate registration for companies having different business verticals, cancellation of registration, new return filing norms and issuance of consolidated debit/credit notes covering multiple invoices
The total domestic consumption of cotton in the country during 2017-18, as estimated by Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) in its meeting held on 16.6.2018, is 315.50 lakh bales. The Government has been implementing Cotton Development Programme with a focus on cropping system approach under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) in major cotton growing states since 2014-15 to enhance production and productivity. Thrust has been given on transfer of technology through frontline demonstrations and training in order to extend benefits to farmers. In addition, States can support Cotton Development Programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna.
Further to provide remunerative prices to cotton cultivators in the country, Government has fixed the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Cotton for 2018-19 season at Rs. 5150/- per quintal for medium staple and at Rs. 5450/- per quintal for long staple. This provides margin of 50 percent over all India paid out cost including family labour.
As a result of various initiatives taken by the Government, India has become a major cotton producer in the world and is also a net cotton surplus country. The total cotton production and consumption in the country during the current crop year i.e. 2018-19 is not available. However, State-wise estimated production of cotton, as per the Third Advance Estimates for the year 2017-18 is 348.62 lakh bales.
President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate a MSME summit for promoting `One district, one product’ scheme in Lucknow on August 10.
Aimed at boosting micro, small and medium enterprises, the Summit would be corollary to UP Investor’s Summit held in Lucknow in February.
The ODOP was designed to promote traditional industries and spur local economy and the scheme seeking international branding was launched on January 25 this year.
MSME and Khandi and Village Industries minister Satyadeo Pachauri said in Lucknow on Wednesday that President Ram Nath Kovind will formally inaugurate the summit on August 10 and distribute loan sanction papers worth Rs 500 crore to beneficiaries of ODOP scheme. Pachauri said that ministers in-charge of districts will also distribute loans to beneficiaries of the scheme. He said that tool kits will also be provided to entrepreneurs of cottage and handicrafts.
The minister said that beneficiaries of ODOP scheme from Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Moradabad, Agra and Kanpur will also share their experience with the President. He said that arrangements were being made for live telecast of the programme across the state which will be held at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Lucknow.
The President will also inaugurate a three-day exhibition where one product from each district would be put on display. Pachauri said that 8 technical sessions would he organized during the Summit on subjects like handloom, textiles craft, tourism, agro and food processing, credit and finance. He said that the Summit will be the first of its kind by any state government in the country and was expected to give a big boost to MSME and handicrafts in the state.
MSME sector is the backbone of UP’s industrial landscape and contributes 60% to its annual industrial output by employing around 4 crore people and generating direct economic activity worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore annually.
The state is home to over 50 Lakh MSMEs and the sector is the second largest employer after agriculture, making it imperative for any development roadmap, especially in the backdrop of the government targeting to generate 20 lakh jobs in the next four years.
The MSME department is also pursuing investment proposals received at Investors Summit in February, so that they could translate on the ground soon. The sector had netted investment proposals worth over Rs 60,000 crore. In all, investment commitments of Rs 4.68 lakh crore were signed during the UP Investors summit.
UP is famous for product specific traditional industrial hubs across 75 districts viz. Varanasi (Banarasi silk sari), Bhadohi (carpet), Lucknow (chikan), Kanpur (leather goods), Agra (leather footwear), Aligarh (lock), Moradabad (brassware), Meerut (sports goods), Saharanpur (wooden products) etc.
The Government is implementing Power Tex India, a comprehensive scheme for power loom sector development.Under the scheme, existing plain powerlooms are upgraded to semi-automatic and shuttleless looms to improve quality and productivity, by providing financial assistance to powerloomunits. So far, more than 2.16 lakh looms have been upgraded in the country under the in-situ upgradation component of the scheme.
For implementing Amended Technology Upgradation Funds Scheme (ATUFS), a comprehensivei-TUFS software has been developed. Through the iTUFS software, the beneficiary units can directly upload their applications. The beneficiary units can also track their application at each stage of the process.
India is the largest producer of cotton in the world. The production of cotton during cotton season 2017-18 of major countries is given below:
India is the second largest exporter of textiles in the world. During 2017-18, India exported cotton textiles volume at USD 1854 million to Bangladesh and USD 1020 million to China.During 2013-17, man-made fibre (MMF) exports of China have grown at a CAGR of 2%,while India’s MMF exports have grown by3% during the same period.
This information was given by the Minister of State of Textiles, Ajay Tamta, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Power utilities in Telangana met a record peak demand of 10,429 mw on Tuesday even as the state was leading the southern region in accelerated demand growth, particularly after the launch of 24/7 free supply to agriculture last year.
With the dramatic rise in availability and supply of power after the Andhra-Telangana bifurcation, the two states today account for 42 per cent of the total demand in the southern region comprising six states. In 2013, just a year before the bifurcation, the undivided Andhra Pradesh accounted for about 33 per cent of southern India’s power demand.
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao complimented state power utilities for surpassing the 10,000 mw demand (being met), a feat once achieved in the undivided state, through a substantial capacity addition and purchase of power from surplus states such as Chhattisgarh after the formation of the new state.
Currently, the per capita consumption in Telangana is 33 per cent higher than the national average, and is an important index of the development, Rao said on Tuesday.
After the free power scheme was upgraded to 24/7 supply in June, the power demand in Telangana jumped 33 per cent to 9,326 mw (July 31, 2017) from a peak summer demand of over 7000 mw in May last year. This had taken Telangana to the second spot in the region, next only to Tamil Nadu (14,260 mw), as it surpassed the demand of 9000 mw registered in Karnataka while leaving its sibling AP state, which had a peak demand of around 7000 mw, far behind.
Exactly year later, on July 31, 2018, the power demand was up by 11 per cent in Telangana (10429 mw), 18 per cent in AP (8550 mw), 2.92 per cent in Karnataka (9241 mw), 4.7 per cent in Tamil Nadu (14265 mw) and by 6.4 per cent in Kerala (3217 mw), showing a faster demand growth in Andhra and Telangana compared to other states in the region. Of 44821 mw of maximum demand met by the southern grid on Tuesday, the two states accounted for close to 19,000 mw, as per Southern Regional Load Despatch Center’s data.
According to the state power utilities, the three major sectors — industry, agriculture and household consumption — have been contributing 30 per cent each to the total demand while the remaining 10 per cent demand has been coming from trade and businesses. The state government expects the power demand to further go up to 11,500 mw during the ongoing kharif season.
Though power utilities and the government will have to take an extra financial load to the extent of increase in free power consumption, the demand growth itself was perceived as a major achievement by the political leadership for more than one reasons, according to industry observers. One such reason is that the demand growth would justify a massive capacity addition being undertaken in the form of coal-fired power plants by the state government.
The TS Transco and TS Genco chairman and managing director, D Prabhakar Rao, recently stated that the installed capacity under various sources in the state would reach 17,000 mw by December 2018 while the target was to increase this capacity to 28,000 mw three-four years down the line.
The ongoing capacity addition was also aimed at securing power to operate massive lift irrigation projects currently underway. About 9,000 mw of power is supposed to be required to run these lift irrigation projects.
Silk yarn depot in Chirala, facelift of Neta Bazar other demands
Ahead of the National Handloom Day celebrations in Chirala, weavers there will press for repealing the GST on yarn, dyes and fabric handloom products .
Faced with competition from mechanised looms, 50,000 looms in and around Chirala have dwindled to 10,000 facing hurdles in sourcing raw material and in finding market for environment-friendly products.
“We add value to our products and go all out to woo health-conscious customers by using organic cotton and vegetable dyes. Yet, we are finding it hard to survive because of competition from power looms,” Indira Abhyudaya Silk Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society president B. Shyam Sundar told The Hindu.
The Neta Bazar in Chirala needed a facelift to improve the market for them, he said
Wait for soft loans
As weavers are forced to go to Bengaluru and Dharmavaram to procure silk yarn, “It is high time a silk yarn depot is set up in Chirala itself,” said Mr. Sundar, adding that the 20% incentive promised by both the governments on products sold by them remained unpaid for three years. A bank for soft loans to weavers was pending.
“For products sold through the Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society, we wait for payment for more than 10 months,” said Jawala Narasimham, weaver.
Subsequent generations were changing professions as weaving was no longer lucrative and viable, said M. Gourishankar of the Sitaramaraju Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society.
The governments should provide house-cum-worksheds on a saturation basis since at least 2,000 applications were pending, added K. Lakshma Rao.
Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) blamed lukewarm attitude of previous governments for impairing the textile exporters’ ability to maintain their presence in international markets thus decreasing export from $26 billion to $18 billion.
Addressing a meeting of the textile millers before his departure abroad, FCCI President Shabbir Hussain Chawla said that government in-waiting should start homework right now to announce special package based on already formulated PTI Textile Policy so that it could be implemented immediately with the taking over of powers by the PTI government in centre.
He said that this decline plunged the national economy in deep crisis and despite of pressing demands of the textile sector, the declining trends continued to prevail as governments took only cosmetic steps to the satisfy the business community. He said that on the other hand our regional competitors including Bangladesh captured our markets and now its textile export have jump to 30 billion dollar while Pakistani exports are dwindling far behind.
He further pointed out that import export gap has also further widened posing a serious threat to the economic viability of Pakistan. He appreciated the efforts of PTI to restore the textile sector on sound footings and said that renowned businessman Zafar Iqbal Sarwar had formulated the PTI textile policy which was dually presented and appreciated by its Chairman Imran Khan.
He said that now as the PTI has made a clean sweep in general election and was ready to form the new government; it should divert its entire focus on the revival of textile sector which is the only available option to restore the national economy within shortest possible time.
He said that in order to implement this policy PTI should nominate Zafar Iqbal Sarwar as “Textile Adviser” so that he could ensure necessary measures to revive the textile sector which was passing through a protracted crisis.
He also demanded that Pakistan government should have to provide the same incentive to our textile exporters as are being enjoyed by the exporters of other regional countries. He further said that nomination of Zafar Iqbal as advisor will not only pave way for the expeditious implementation of PTI textile policy but also give due representation to the textile sector of the Faisalabad in the federal cabinet.
