The Indian government has decided to focus its energies on boosting certain segments of the textile and apparel industry that are already reporting positive performance. It will also assist exporters with export-friendly policies to explore new markets such as Africa so that its dependence in the US and the EU is reduced.
While the country’s total exports contracted for an eleventh straight month through October, overall textile and clothing exports — which also include those of handicrafts and carpets reported positive growth. According to the latest data, overall textile and garment exports rose 0.6 per cent to $18 billion in the first half of the current fiscal from a year before, while the country’s overall exports plunged by 17.6 per cent during the period. Consequently, the share of such textile and clothing exports in the country’s overall exports have risen to 13.5 per cent in the April-September period this fiscal from 11.1 per cent a year before.
Segments like handicrafts and handlooms will receive a renewed boost in order to enhance their export potential. China is the biggest market for textiles, accounting for over 70 per cent of India’s cotton and 40 per cent of yarn exports and the US and the EU are the largest markets for Indian apparel, with a share of around 65 per cent of the total garment exports. To promote textile exports to new markets such as Africa, the government has raised support to outbound shipments of more textile products under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Most of the textile and garment items, which were earlier not availing much of a benefit, are now granted 3 per cent duty credit scrip under the MEIS to tap markets.
Recently, the government also introduced 110 new tariff lines, including textile, telecom and electronic items, in the MEIS and increased the duty benefit rates or the country coverage, or both, for 2,228 existing tariff lines. The commerce ministry’s move to partially tweak the MEIS came after the finance ministry had agreed to raise the allocation for the scheme to Rs21,000 crores for the current fiscal from Rs18,000 crores announced earlier.
Texmin.nic.in
