Textiles industry veterans hail GST

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will make the textiles industry "more competitive" and help in "exponential growth" in the country, leading players in the sector said today.
Industry veterans hailed the new tax regime, to be rolled out on July 1.
"I would like to congratulate our honourable prime minister and entire Government of India for introducing the biggest transformational tax reform in India, the GST," said CMD of Raymonds Group Gautam Singhania.
Singhania was among a host of industry leaders from the textile sector from both domestic and global companies who were invited for the Textiles India 2017 seminar organised at Mahatma Mandir here.

"(The GST) would create a seamless and inclusive business environment and will enable exponential growth in the country," he said.
Chairman of Arvind Ltd, the Ahmedabad-based textiles major, Sanjay Lalbhai, also praised the GST at the event.

"Implementation of the GST is a historical and bold decision of the present government. It will bring transparency in the industry. The GST will help informal sector of the textile industry," said Lalbhai.
"This move will push Indian textile Industry to be more competitive and help it to compete with China in the global market," he added.
Speaking at the seminar, President and CEO of US Polo Association, David Cummings, praised India's tax reforms, calling them as being good for the Indian and foreign companies alike.

"(The GST) is good for the Indian industry and foreign companies like us," he said.
In his speech, Singhania expressed his commitment for the Centre's 'Make in India' programme and said his company is taking a slew of initiatives to promote khadi at global level.
"Raymonds has embarked on a mission to (promote khadi). This will create multiple employment opportunities and empower India, especially women in rural India. We will undertake design innovations at khadi manufacturing clusters across the country providing the artisans insight into the latest fashion trends," Singhania said.
"We will procure all varieties of khadi and send them to our manufacturing facilities to ensure superior finished products," he said, adding the initiative will positively impact 10,000 khadi artisans and generate 3 million additional manpower.

Aditya Birla Group Chairman K M Birla called for research and development in textiles. "We must step up rigour in skill development to deliver world-class productivity. We must also increase our investment in state-of-the-art research and development."
These industry leaders were speaking at the inaugural session of the conference, a maiden collaborative effort of 24 Export Promotion Councils working under the Ministry of Textiles and with the trade body CII as industry partner.
More than 1,500 national and international exhibitors from the textile sector are showcasing their products and services. Over 2,500 international buyers and 15,000 domestic visitors are expected to attend the three-day mega event.