India's textile minister Irani says 682 textiles mills closed, 1,399 operational

Out of 682 Indian textile mills closed as on June end this year, 232 were in Tamil Nadu, 85 in Maharashtra, 60 in Uttar Pradesh and 42 in Haryana. Among the 1,399 operational textile mills, 752 were in Tamil Nadu, followed by 135 in Maharashtra and 112 in Andhra Pradesh, textiles minister Smriti Irani informed the lower house of parliament recently.

Noting that the textile industry has attracted the highest foreign direct investment under the present government, she said the goods and services tax (GST) and labour reforms have been welcomed by the industry, according to a news agency report.

On new schemes initiated by the government to set up textile mills, the minister said under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) launched in 2016, a one-time capital subsidy of 15 per cent for the garments and technical textiles segments is offered with a cap of Rs 30 crore.

A 10 per cent capital subsidy is also offered for segments like weaving, processing, jute, silk and handloom with a subsidy cap of Rs 20 crore for setting up new textile units or for expansion of existing units with benchmarked technology.