FIEO Chief says extension of TUFS would be welcome

New Delhi, Jan 23 (UNI) The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) today welcomed Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath's announcement that the Government was positively inclined to extend the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) for the textile sector beyond March 2007.

FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta in a statement here said TUFS provided the much-needed support through the interest subsidy required for the modernisation of the textile sector which contributed 12 per cent to the country's export basket.

Noting that the textile sector was also a major source of employment generation, he said the textile exports to the US during October-November 2006 declined by 4.8 per cent to 404 million dollars against 424.3 million dollars in the same period of 2005. Further, India's exports to non European Union countries also experienced a dip to 11.02 per cent during the first ten months of 2006 against 15.4 per cent in the same period in 2005.

Meanwhile, exports from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia had shown "phenomenal growth" of 34.22 per cent, 21.27 per cent, 51.69 per cent and 19.67 per cent respectively, he added.

UNI