India has taken several steps for the promotion of investment, exports and creation of new job opportunities in the textile sector. GST on manmade fiber yarns has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. GST rates for garments and made-up articles not exceeding Rs 1000 a piece are five per cent of the sale value and 12 per cent for articles of sale value exceeding Rs 1000 a piece. Accumulated input tax credit on fabrics will be refunded. This is aimed at reducing the cost of fabrics, which are major inputs for garments.

The package offers Rebate of State Levies, labor law reforms, additional incentives under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme and some income tax relaxation. A 40 per cent subsidy is being provided for setting up textile parks. A scheme has been launched for boosting production in knitting and knitwear clusters. The Samarth scheme will train 10 lakh youngsters for a period of three years at an estimated cost of Rs 1300 crores. Total compensation under the remission of state levies scheme and a new scheme to reimburse against embedded central taxes (even after the GST rollout) will be raised to 6.05 per cent (of freight-on-board value) for garments and 8.2 per cent for made-ups from the current 1.7 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.