India plans to set up ‘Bharat Park’ in the UAE where an Indian goods showroom and warehouses will come up.
According to Union Minister of Textiles & Commerce Piyush Goyal, this will make it easier for people in other nations to purchase Indian items from “Bharat Park” because the payment mechanism is secure in the United Arab Emirates. On January 4, 2024, in Mumbai, he was the Chief Guest at The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council’s (SRTEPC) Export Awards ceremony.
He went on to say that Man Made Fibre Textiles (MMF) held the future. Speaking on free trade agreements (FTAs) with countries like Japan, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and others, he disclosed that it is concerning that India uses so little of the benefits of these agreements. He declared that BIS would establish 21 testing laboratories across India for a total of Rs. 40 crore.
According to Bhadresh Dodhia, Chairman of the SRTEPC, exports of textiles made of man-made fibres reached US $ 5.8 billion in 2022–2023 compared to US $ 6.8 billion in 2021–2022, representing a negative growth of (-) 15.3 per cent. Technical textile exports reached US $ 2.5 billion in 2022–2023 compared to US $ 2.8 billion in 2021–2022, representing a (-) 11.9 per cent decline in growth.
Textiles produced of man-made fibres were exported for US $ 3.1 billion from April to October 2023, down from US $ 3.4 billion in the same period the previous year—a 9.4 per cent decline in value. Similarly, technical textile exports reached US $ 1.51 billion from April to October 2023, up from US $ 1.5 billion in the same period the previous year, indicating a 0.5 per cent increase.
He went on to say that we are optimistic that exports of technical textiles would surpass US $ 3 billion and exports of textiles made of man-made fibres will surpass US $ 6 billion between 2023 and 2024.
In accordance with the Government’s plans, SRTEPC will use all of its resources to enhance exports of textiles made of man-made fibres to US $ 11 billion and exports of technical textiles to US $ 10 billion by 2030.
The inverted duty structure under the GST is a concern for the textile industry that uses man-made fibres. GST rates for fibres are 18 per cent, yarns are 12 per cent, and textiles are 5 per cent. As a result, the manufacturers are accruing input tax credits, which raises their costs. The SRTEPC asks that the same GST rate be applied to all items in the MMF Textiles value chain.
Dodhia asked the Government to extend the Interest Equalisation Scheme to include the whole textile and apparel value chain.
