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Textile industry welcomes new minister, seeks minimum GST merit rate

The industry body also extended gratitude towards the Prime Minister for a Cabinet minister for textiles to achieve the goal of creating 50 million jobs in next few years

Smriti Irani leaves her office after taking charge of the textiles ministry in New Delhi on Wednesday

Smriti Irani leaves her office after taking charge of the textiles ministry in New Delhi on Wednesday

Vinay Umarji Ahmedabad
Textile industry bodies and large players alike have welcomed the appointment of former HRD minister Smriti Irani as the new Cabinet minister for textiles.

While on one hand the industry is hopeful the appointment will see a progressive approach being taken by Irani, it anticipates the government would consider textiles for the minimum merit rate under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) when implemented.

Welcoming appointment of Smt. Smriti Irani as the new Minister of Textiles, Naishadh Parikh, chairman, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) said: "At a time the textile industry is poised to establish 'Make in India' into a reality, the appointment of a dynamic, progressive and result-oriented Cabinet Minister like Smt. Irani comes at an opportune time."

 

The industry body also extended gratitude towards the Prime Minister for a Cabinet minister for textiles to achieve the goal of creating 50 million jobs in next few years. On the other hand, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) is of the view that Irani would be ideal in leading efforts by the Textiles Ministry to achieve the ambitious targets and expectations.

"We welcome Smt Smriti Irani and expect that with her dynamic approach and leadership, she will be an ideal person to lead the industry in its efforts to achieve the ambitious targets and expectations from the industry. The recent package has been extremely pro-active and addresses most of the roadblocks that were hampering the growth of the garment industry. And we expect that the coming years will see a much more aggressive growth rate in terms of exports, employment and investments in the industry. One other major initiative which the government must take is to ensure that the garment industry is kept in the minimum merit rate of GST as and when it is implemented," said Rahul Mehta, president of CMAI.

Commenting on the development, Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman & MD of Arvind, said: "We at Arvind welcome Smt. Smriti Irani as the Union Minister for Textiles, Government of India. Her inclusion will provide new energy to the recently-approved textile initiative — the Rs 6,000 crore package for the textiles sector with an aim to create 10 million new jobs in three years. Under her dynamic and able leadership, this initiative will have the potential to attract investments of $11 billion, while eyeing an additional $30 billion in exports."

According to Lalbhai: "With the unfolding global opportunities, the Indian textile sector is well-poised to create jobs for millions of Indians and contribute substantially to the GOIs 'Make-In-India' initiative. Arvind extends its full support to the Textiles Minister in her endeavour to make the Indian textile industry grow by leaps and bounds in the domestic as well as global market."

The industry, as per Parikh, hopes the recent initiatives by the government will further bolster the Indian textile scenario amid large investments taking place in Bangladesh and Vietnam.

"India is the second fully integrated robust textile value chain, next only to China. The industry is looking forward to initiatives to further bolster the textile industry in view of large investments taking place in Bangladesh and Vietnam towards verticalisation of the industry. The Indian textile industry is optimistic and confident that under her able leadership, the Indian textile value-chain will grow manifold. We assure Smt. Irani all support and co-operation in her endeavour and initiatives in textiles," Parikh said.

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First Published: Jul 07 2016 | 7:32 PM IST

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