Textile policy to be unveiled before Vibrant Gujarat meet

The Gujarat government recently announced it will come out with a new textile policy before the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January. The announcement followed a meeting of state government officials and textile industry stakeholders chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar. The state’s last textile policy unveiled in 2012 expired last year.

Dhriubhai Shah of Yarn Association, Heman Bodawala, a representative from the powerloom sector, and Hemant Desai of the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) also attended the meeting, according to Indian media reports.

Representatives from the textile sector have been meeting and making representations to the state government in the last one year to frame a new textile policy.

The chief minister has assured that a major demand of reduction in power tariff is also being looked into in the policy, said SGCCI president Hetal Mehta.

The SGCCI has demanded power concession of 50 per cent on billed amount for a period of five years. In 2012 textile policy, there was power subsidy of one rupee per unit in the billed amount for a period of five years.

As there was no capital subsidy in the earlier policy, SGCCI has suggested that for man-made fibres, cotton, blended weaving and knitting, there should be a ceiling of subsidy amount of Rs 20 crore (approx $ million).

Members of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), who also attended the meeting, suggested that khadi should be promoted in a big way as there was a huge demand for hand-spun yarn in countries like Japan.