Courtesy: PIB

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has today given a clarion call to global investors to “Come, invest and make textiles in India”. He said India has one of the most liberal investment policies for foreign investment in the textiles and apparel sector, and the government allows 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) through automatic route in the textiles and apparel sector.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 3-day mega textile event Textiles India 2017, where more than 100 countries have registered their participation, Modi described India as a bright spot in the global economy. “It has emerged as one of the most attractive global investment destinations. This has been made possible by a series of sustained policy initiatives,” he said.

During its 3-year tenure, the NDA government has implemented more than seven thousand reforms to improve the ease of doing business. Citing examples, Modi said, “Processes have been simplified and made transparent. Government has repealed over twelve hundred outdated laws.”

The Prime Minister informed the international audience that as a result of his government’s reformist policies, India has moved up by thirty two places in the last two years in the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum, which is the highest for any country. India moved up nineteen places on the World Bank Logistics Performance Index of 2016. India also moved up sixteen places on the Global Innovation Index of the World Intellectual Property Organisation in 2016. And, the country is third among the top ten FDI destinations listed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Based on the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the organised textiles industry is being infused with the mantras of ‘skill, scale, speed’ and ‘zero-defect, zero-effect’ for scaling up employment, production and exports, Modi said. “The textile sector offers significant employment opportunities. It is today, our second largest employer after agriculture. Over forty five million people are employed directly in the sector, and over sixty million people are employed in allied activities.”

Driven by the rising middle class, Modi said, India’s domestic market for apparel and lifestyle products, currently estimated at $85 billion, is expected to reach $160 billion by 2025.

Fashion designers and craftsmen showcased the strength of the Indian textiles sector in Cotton, Silk, Wool, Woven & hand-printed, Embroidered as well as Modern & Futuristic textiles.The textile story was narrated through the works of Abraham Thakore, Anita Dongre, Anuj Bhutani, Anuradha Pegu, Amit Aggarwal, Chaman Premji, Good Earth, Hemant Agarwal, Kaleekal, Masaba Gupta, Madhu Jain, Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rahul Misra, RituKumar, Rimzim Dadu, RohitBal, Sanjay Garg, Sabyasachi, Samant Chauhan, Shades of India – Mandeep Nagi, Sunita Shankar, Suket Dhir, Wendell Rodricks & Tarun TahilianiThe presentation was a celebration of the textiles and handicrafts of India bringing to the fore the inspiring vision of the Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi – “From Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion, Fashion to Foreign.”

Announcing Policies 

Listing the various policy measures implemented by his government, he said the government has decided to provide financial help to companies in the apparel and madeups sector that hire new workers. The 12 per cent amount that an employer has to contribute to the employee provident fund would be borne by the Central government. This will enable more workers to join the formal sector.

The government has also found a way for fixed term employment in the apparel sector. Any worker who joins for a specific time period would get all the benefits that are available to any permanent employee. This will also help in improving condition of the workers. Under the Income Tax Act too, manufacturing units in this sector that employ at least 100 people and give employment to any new worker for up to 150 days, would get tax relief.

Thanking Prime Minister Modi for making GST a reality, Arvind CMD Sanjay Lalbhai said “Progressive and simple GST for entire textile value chain will provide level playing field, especially for those who are compliant. This will push Indian textile industry to be more competitive. This is expected to create 20 million jobs in the country.” (RKS)

Fibre to Fashion reports : http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/come-invest-make-textiles-in-india-pm-206644-newsdetails.htm