Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 18

MARKET WATCH
NCTC Proposes
Measures to Boost
the Textile and
Clothing Industries
CMAI President Rahul
Mehta meets Hon’ble
Finance Minister Smt.
Nirmala Sitharaman
CMAI President Rahul Mehta met the Hon’ble
Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on
October 14, 2019, in New Delhi to discuss the
Issues of the Textile Industry, along with other
Members of Councils and Trade Bodies.
CMAI Welcomes
PM’s Decision to Not
Join RCEP
The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India
(CMAI) Welcomes the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s
decision to not join the Regional Comprehensive
Economic Partnership (RCEP). Giving his
reaction on the same, Rahul Mehta, President,
CMAI, stated that RCEP is always going to be
a double-edged sword, with some Industries
gaining and others, suffering. Even within the
Textile Value Chain, some would have benefitted
and others would have lost. CMAI believes that
the Prime Minister has taken the right call, given
the precarious position the Industry—especially
the Textile industry—is in presently. CMAI
compliments the Government on taking a step,
which will bring relief to thousands of Small
Manufacturers and Traders.
Having said that, CMAI also believes that
ultimately, the Industry has to learn to stand on its
own and face competition. It is the responsibility
of the Government, Industry Associations, and
the Industry itself, to create the right policy
framework, appropriate platform, and will to
evolve and reach that state. But for the moment,
CMAI thanks the Prime Minister for the decision.
16
I APPAREL I
November 2019
With the objective of highlighting the issues
and challenges that are being faced by the
textile and clothing industries, as well as the
urgent policy interventions required to address
the same, all stakeholders from the sectors,
national textile associations, Export Promotion
Councils (EPCs) as well as regional-level
textile and clothing industry associations
representing the entire textile value chain
have formed a steering committee called the
‘National Committee on Textiles & Clothing
(NCTC)’ under the chairmanship of Shri T
Rajkumar, Chairman, Confederation of Indian
Textile Industry (CITI).
NCTC is now meeting regularly to discuss
various issues ranging from fibres and fashion
to arriving at a common understanding
on both short-term and long-term policy
measures for domestic and international
markets. For the purpose of long-term policy
measures, NCTC has decided to hire services
of a competent agency to undertake a study
and recommend various policy measures to
enable the entire textiles and clothing value
chain—which covers all types of fibres and
products—to remain globally competitive
and achieve a sustained growth rate, both in
domestic and international markets.