PLI scheme for textiles: Govt approves 61 proposals of over ₹19,000 crore.

The government has selected a total of 61 applicants under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles, to promote production of man made fibre (MMF) fabrics & apparels and technical textiles, with a proposed investment of ₹19,077 crore.

This includes applications from seven foreign groups from countries such as the US, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Germany and Sri Lanka, who will produce in the country through their Indian arms, according to Textiles Secretary UP Singh who addressed a press briefing recently.

“In the approved 61 applications, the proposed total investment is ₹19,077 crore and a projected turnover is ₹184,917 crore with a proposed employment of 2,40,134,” Singh said.

There were just 15 applications under part one of the scheme, with minimum investment requirement of ₹300 crore and minimum turnover mandated at ₹600 crore, of which 13 were selected. The number of applicants for part two of the scheme, with lower minimum investment requirement of ₹100 crore and minimum turnover requirement at ₹200 crore, have been much higher at 52 of which 48 were selected.

The Textile Ministry is likely to come out with a second edition of the PLI scheme some time soon to fully utilise the allocated amount of ₹10,683 crore for a five-year period as the outgo on incentives based on the approved projects is estimated to be ₹6,600 crore, the Secretary added.

“Based on the approval of the competent authority, we plan to have the PLI-2 scheme only for the apparel industry as that is where maximum job creation takes place,” Singh said. He added that the parameters for the scheme, like minimum investment requirement, may be brought down to accommodate smaller entities.

Some of the applicants that have received the nod for the scheme include Kimberly Clark from the US, Madura Industrial Textiles, Trident Limited, Toray International from Japan, Shahi Exports and Suchi Industries.

On the government’s decision to do away with 10 per cent import duty on cotton imports till September 30 this year, Singh said that it will enable users to import from wherever they were getting cotton at competitive prices and will also lower domestic prices as those holding stocks will prefer to sell. However, cotton prices will not fall too low as there were shortages globally with countries such as the US dealing with a drought-like situation.

HBL