The industries in Coimbatore especially textile industry want government to improve the competitiveness of the industries compared to those in other states for which they have some common demands that they want the elected representatives to address industry specific issues and some others. Even if the political parties do not include these in their election manifestos, they need to address the problems if elected to power, said industry representatives.

For the textile industry here, one of the main demands is reduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) on yarn.

Tamil Nadu which has the largest number of spinning mills in the country has been urging for reduction of VAT to two percent, on a par with Central Sales Tax as mills from Andhra Pradesh sell yarn in Tamil Nadu at a lower cost compared to the mills here.

It is because they pay two percent CST but the mills in Tamil Nadu pay five percent VAT. If the Central Government introduces GST this issue would be addressed. Otherwise the State Government should reduce VAT to sustain the entire textile value chain.

Industry sources said that Tamil Nadu, despite its strength in textiles, did not announce a textile policy while States such as Maharashtra did so, offering incentives to the industry.

Tamil Nadu should support development of textile processing and make project implementation easier, said the industry.

Investments to the tune of Rs. 2,000 crore were committed in the textile sector at the Global Investors’ Meet held in Chennai last year. Majority of this is expected to be in textile processing.

The Government should also develop labour quarters and women’s hostels, especially in Tirupur as the industry attracts workers from other districts and states and nearly 25 percent of wages of a knitwear worker goes towards house rent.

The elected representatives should interact with the textile industry on regular basis to address their grievances.