Apparel Online India Magazine July 2nd Issue 2018 | Page 44

INDIA CANVAS
Tirupur: PF contribution declining; pay employee's
share first and employer's share later
In Tirupur, the garment industry’s
declining PF contribution is a
reason of worry for Government
officials. In this regard, PF
officials and Tirupur Exporters’
Association (TEA) recently had
a meeting in which Jaiwadan
Ingle, Regional PF Commissioner
I, EPFO (Coimbatore) stressed
the importance of PF contribution
for the benefit of security for
the employees and also pointed
out the significant decline in PF
contribution from number of
employees.
Putting the issue in perspective,
Raja M Shanmugham, President,
TEA discussed the current
scenario of knitwear export
sector with the officials. Raja
TEA members and PF officials discussing PF issue
shared the difficulties being
experienced by knitwear export
sector, further to demonetization
and implementation of GST and
also dwelt upon the challenging
business environment in global
market. While PF Commissioner
said the PF contribution is
statutory for an employee, but as
the knitwear sector is undergoing
financial difficulties, he has
given the option for payment
of employee’s share first and
employer’s share at a later date
within a specified time frame
after mentioning the financial
difficulties in a statement and
submitting it to EPFO. Raja
assured that TEA members would
be requested to comply with PF
contribution.
ITAMMA: India will soon
Gujarat: New
beat China in textile
textile policy to be
implemented in October sector
Gujarat will implement new
textile policy in October this
year. In this regard, talks
between Gujarat’s Industries’
Commissioner Mamata Sharma
and industry representatives
were held in Surat during her
visit to Southern Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (SGCCI).
The Gujarat Government unveiled
its textile and apparel policy
which would offer generous
subsidies and incentives. While
discussing textile policy with
officials, industry representatives
raised the issue of power tariff
which is almost double than in the
neighbouring state Maharashtra.
The textile units have been paying
Rs. 7.5 per unit for electricity
usage, while Maharashtra charges
just Rs. 3.75 per unit, which
ultimately makes manufacturing
costlier in Surat. Investor-friendly
textile policy and economical
tariff power have attracted
textile entrepreneurs from Surat
to Tarapur and Navagam in
Maharashtra. They also raised
concern about no-release of
subsidy amount of Rs. 650 crore
for those who made investments
under Technology Upgradation
Fund Scheme (TUFS).
According to SGCCI President
Hetal Mehta, “New textile policy
should pay attention on issues
raised by us; if not, then textile
industry in Surat would be in
trouble.” The visiting Industries’
Commissioner has however assured
to find a solution to their problems.
At least 40 per cent decline in the
production of finished fabrics at
textile processing units in the
Indian textile hub, Surat, was
reported due to sluggish market
and money crisis.
44 Apparel Online India | JULY 16-31, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com
With availability of cheap labour
and modernisation along with
the support of Tamil Nadu, which
contributes over 30 per cent
of India’s textile production,
the country will leave China
behind in the textile sector;
this has been anticipated by
the Indian Textiles Accessories
and Machinery Manufacturers
Association (ITAMMA). Both
India and China have major
contributions in the global textile
production and exports. “Tamil
Nadu contributes 39 per cent of
total textile production in India,”
said J M Balaji, Chairman, Events
and Publications Subcommittee,
ITAMMA.
According to Balaji, production
level in domestic textile industry
is anticipated to reach US $ 350
billion from the current US $
100 billion. Tamil Nadu is home
to around 4.13 lakh handlooms,
3.66 lakh powerlooms and 1,889
spinning mills which together
offer employment to more than
8 lakh people. More than 5 lakh
people in the state are employed
in the knitwear and woven
garment production units in the
state. Contrary to India, labour
cost in China is very high which is
a boon for India to surpass China
in the textile industry. ITAMMA
recently organised a ‘product-
cum-catalogue show’ in Madurai
to offer a platform to those
associated with the industry to
get to know more about machines
and spares manufacturers
and suppliers to resolve their
technical problems. The event also
helped them to understand the
latest developments/ innovations
in the textile machines and
components space.