India targets to export textiles worth 50 billion dollar by 2010

New Delhi, Nov 8 (UNI) India has set an ambitious target for exports from the textile sector at 50 billion dollars in 2010 and attaining an industry size of 115 billion dollars by the terminal year of the Eleventh Plan.

Addressing the Economic Editors' Conference here today, Textiles Minister Shankersinh Vaghela informed that in the first year of the quota free regime in 2005-06, the textile exports recorded a robust growth of 22 per cent and touched an export mark of 17 billion dollars, thus contributing about 14 per cent to the industrial production and about 17 per cent of the total exports from the country.

He said the industry is aiming at investments of the order of 31 billion (Rs 1,40,000 crore) by 2010, and thereby double India's share of the global trade.

The Minister said that the government is making concerted efforts to improve the capacity, productivity and investment climate in the textile sector so that it becomes the backbone of India's manufacturing sector.

Various policies and procedures have been streamilined and made more exporter friendly to enable the exporters to compete more effectively in the global markets.

As a part of the overall policy of de-regulation and de-control, the Government have reserved the garments, hosiery and knitwear sectors for the small scale industries sector to enable the industry to realise the economies of scale.

He said exports to the US increased by 26 per cent and to European Union by 18 per cent Exports were up by 18 per cent in dollar terms and 24 per cent in rupee terms.

Mr Vaghela also said that investment under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme has increased from Rs 8,064 crore in 2003-04 to Rs 33,000 crore in 2006-07 thus providing employment to over 25 lakh people.

He said the fiscal duty structure has been rationalised by doing away with the multiplicity of taxes, reduction in excise and customs duty, and by providing relief from maintaining excessive records under the Excise regime. Except for mandatory excise duty on manmade filament yarns and manmade staple fibres, the whole value addition chain has been given option of Excise exemption.

Mr Vaghela said since the inception of the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks, 26 integrated parks have been sanctioned with a total project cost of Rs 2430 crore, involving investments of more than Rs 13,445 crore and an additional employment generation of more than 5 lakh persons.

The Handloom Mark has been launched to create a brand image for handloom products and since its inception more than 3.5 lakh labels have been sold out.

The Minister also informed that he had talks with concerned ministries for bringing reforms in the labour laws for enhancing exports from the country.

Mr Vaghela also mentioned that the industry which had been experiency a growth rate of 3 to 4 per cent during the last six decades has suddenly leapfrogged to 9 to 10 per cent growth rate.

A number of schemes for the welfare of artisans like 'Artisan Credit Card' for handicraft artisans and 'Swarozgar Credit Card' for weavers have been introduced. Health Insurance Scheme and Mahatma Gandhi Bima Yojana for handloom weavers have also been launched recently, he added. UNI BBS CS KP1950