TUFS extended till Mar '07

The Union textiles ministry has extended the date of closure of the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) up to March 31, 2007.

The scheme was introduced on April 1, 1999, for a period of five years. Its objective is to provide term loans at competitive rates to facilitate technology upgradation and modernisation of the textile industry.

"It is imperative to lift up the textile and clothing industry of the country "" not merely to promote exports, but also to enable the textile units to hold on to their domestic market share in the face of competition from abroad," Union textiles minister Shankersinh Vaghela said at an industry interactive session on issues related to TUF here on Saturday.

"The National Textile Policy - 2000 clearly indicates the approach of the government for promoting the textiles industry in the country," he added.

The TUF scheme was extended keeping in mind the actual needs of the textile industry, more particularly the decentralised powerloom sector.

It provides five per cent interest reimbursement subsidy, 12 per cent up-front subsidy for the SSI sector and credit linked capital subsidy up to investments of Rs 60 lakh for SSI powerlooms to encourage small textile units to go for modernisation of their machines.

Textile industry is the second largest employment provider after agriculture in India. It contributes five per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and one-third of the total export earnings.

"The small and medium enterprises in the Indian textile industry are primarily decentralised. They play an important role in the textile economy. The predominance of the SMEs can be seen in the entire supply chain of the textile industry, cotton ginning and processing, weaving, processing and apparel manufacturing. The government's TUF scheme will enable the small and medium textile unit to modernise and upgrade their technology to be internationally competitive," said Subodh Kumar, textiles commissioner, Government of India.

"To know the basic problems of the textile entrepreneurs in availing the benefit of the TUFS and making the required changes in the scheme, the Union textiles ministry will organise an awareness campaign-cum-interactive session on TUFS in all textile clusters," Kumar added.