The Indian Government is expected to offer fiscal incentives for the struggling textile and garment sector, in part to mitigate the effects of a decline in foreign orders. The incentives could come under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme that promises billions of dollars to boost manufacturing ranging from electronic products to pharmaceuticals.
This was stated by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), according to the report. T. Rajkumar, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has been quoted saying, “The government could make an announcement by December," he said referring to industry representatives' meetings with textile and finance ministry officials earlier this month.
Earlier this month, government representatives examined the PLI programme, which was introduced in 2020 and under which the government proposed to provide 14 sectors with monetary incentives totaling about $24 bn. Over 45 mn people are employed in the $150 bn textile and garment business, which is experiencing diminishing exports as European and American consumers cut back on spending due to the inflationary pinch.
In the first four months of the current fiscal year, this runs through 31 March, 2024, India’s textile and apparel exports decreased by about 14 per cent to $11.25 bn. According to Rajkumar, the industry requested financial incentives for smaller producers under the PLI scheme and pushed the government to remove the 11 per cent import charge on particular cotton kinds imported from Egypt and the United States in order to fill specific contracts.
