Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Nitin Gadkari has asked the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) to take measures to bring about a two-fold increase in exports, and said he would speak to the Prime Minister to allow the export of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
In his speech following the inauguration of a Virtual Workshop via video conference, a joint initiative of AEPC and the MSME Ministry, the Union Minister emphasised on technology upgrade and research to improve quality and remain cost-competitive in the global market.
He said the government is supporting the MSME sector with a package announced recently for liquidity and stress management. He also touched upon the need for a lab testing camp of the products and design from the part of global standards and called for having a centre for design.
Gadakari asked the textile industry to explore the use of new material like bamboo. Referring to the enormous employment generation and role of MSMEs in the economy, especially in rural, tribal and backward areas, Gadkari asked apparel/textile industries to set-up clusters in these areas.
On the export of PPE kits, he said, “we are all with you regarding the export of PPE kits. I am constantly following this. I will talk with Piyush Goyal ji and the Prime Minister for the purpose as this will create more employment while at the same time it is an opportunity for our manufacturers,” Shri Gadkari said at a webinar on ‘Manufacture and Exports of Textile Based PPE’.
“Today, we have surplus production and we are in a position to export more of these quality materials. I will write to the Commerce Ministry and the Prime Minister for permission to export PPE kits, masks and sanitiser,” he said.
AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel requested the Minister to encourage lifting the ban on export of N95 masks, daily production of which stands at 50 lakh pieces, and increase the limit of export of PPE suits, which currently is 50 lakh pieces per month.
He also requested the government’s support in raising the production of man-made fiber (MMF) in the country, which will help increase production of MMF-based garments and thereby its export. This is despite the fact that India is the largest producer of polyester yarn. Globally sought after MMF garments constitute just 10 per cent of Indian exports.
Sakthivel requested the Minister to help in the production of MMF fabric of international standard by allotting Rs 25 crore to the Council for R&D. It will help double our garment exports in three years,” Dr Sakthivel said and requested an additional Rs 10 crore for creating a virtual marketing platform saying the future is all about virtual marketing.
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