Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 91

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Apart from cotton, the policy also gives special
preference to processing, knitting, hosiery, and
garmenting sectors. From setting up eco-friendly
manufacturing units to creating an internationally
competitive textile industry in Maharshtra, the
policy wants to achieve an inclusive target
by 2023.
In a similar vein, Gujarat declared its new Textile
Policy for 2018–23 in January this year. With the
textile industry being the second most prominent
employment-generating industry in the state,
the Gujarat government has now made special
room for credit-linked interest subsidies on loans,
subsidies on power tariffs, and the setting up of
textile parks. This inclusive plan will boost the
state’s textile industry at varied levels, making
it self-sufficient. This, in turn, the Government
believes, will stop units from migrating to the
neighbouring state of Maharashtra. In lieu of the
report submitted for the policy concluding in
2018, it was noted that it was successful in terms
of both investment and employment. Thus, the
Government has now allotted a special ‘Scheme
for Assistance to Strengthen Specific Sectors in
the Textile Value Chain’. This will help in looking
closely into the deprived pockets of the industry,
THE GUJARAT GOVERNMENT
HAS NOW MADE SPECIAL
ROOM FOR CREDIT-LINKED
INTEREST SUBSIDIES ON
LOANS, SUBSIDIES ON POWER
TARIFFS, AND THE SETTING UP
OF TEXTILE PARKS.
which they can fill up and assist (the people) by
offering special loans.
In line with these state policies, Andhra
Pradesh’s Textile Policy for 2018–23, too, plans
to create additional employment opportunities for
approximately three lakh people by 2020 and five
lakh people by 2025. This policy aims to attract
investments of R15,000 crore during its tenure.
Contrasing these scheme developments in
other states with the failure of the Karnataka
textile policy, it is safe to say that state
governments can still leverage the potential of
the textile and apparel industries to contribute in
making India an economic powerhouse.
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