Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, Textiles, Piyush Goyal has said that as India and the United Kingdom are engaged in negotiations to finalise a free trade agreement (FTA), the deal will help the textiles sector.
The Minister was in Varanasi for national textile conclave as part of the Kashi Tamil Sangam.
The Minister also informed that the PM Mitra scheme is in advanced stages of evaluating the 18 proposals that it has received and the same will be finalised in near future.
He said textiles is a sector where margins of even 4 per cent – 5 per cent are very important to become competitive. He added, “With the FTAs, we insist that we get duty-free access for textiles and in both UAE and Australia. The textile sector assures me that there are opportunities for both.”
The Minister said the textile industry is clear that they are going to achieve a target of US $ 100 billion in exports and the sector is going to become the largest creator of jobs and employment in the country after agriculture.
Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, CMD, Lakshmi Machine Works; A Sakthivel, President, FIEO, Senior officials of Textile Ministry were also present at the textile conclave.
