Demonetization digitizes Surat textile industry

Post demonetization, the textile industry has launched a drive to digitize the industry in the pretext of the closure of many textile units after the Government’s financial move. Due to the cash crunch and also recession in the textile industry, both the textile traders association and textile procession association had started working on a plan to deal with the situation.

The textile industry has planned to install swipe machines at thousands of textile trading shops, while owners of textile processing units have started opening bank accounts for their workers to beat the cash crunch.

According to the data from the trading body, there are over 55,000 textile trading shops in Surat city and over one lakh people work as packing and sales personnel in the shops on the ring road.Apart from these there are over 5 lakh people who work in the 350 textile processing houses (Dyeing and Printing units) in the city. Due to cash crunch, the textile processing houses used to close down their units for three days in a week.

The textile processing houses also called meeting with the owners y and they discussed about the present situation. The apex body has decided that the workers’ banks accounts should be opened first. At the meeting, Sutex bank officials were also present. If the workers do not have any identity proof, the apex body will also make arrangements for Aadhaar cards.

Federation of South Gujarat Textile Processing Association president Jitu Vakhakria said that they have taken help from the Sutex bank and they have allotted staff at our association office. Even Aadhaar card people have been contacted and staff has been deployed. The bank accounts of workers along with Aadhaar cards will be done at the office.

The processing houses owners have given full cooperation in their decision and on a daily basis the bank accounts of workers are being opened. With this salaries to the workers will be given through cheques. There will be no issue of cash transactions and they can withdraw it from the banks or directly from the ATM.

The Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) held a meeting the next day itself and requested them to go for cash less trading activity by installing swipe machines in their shops and do cashless business transactions.

FOSTTA president Manoj Agrawal said that in the meeting they got good support from the traders.After installation of swipe machines, the traders would have to pay monthly rent of Rs 500 and all amount swiped will directly go to the firms account registered with the bank. The problems of local retailers would be mostly solved by this attempt, and the traders will also accept cash payments from the customers.

With the swipe machines the traders will not have to send their accountants to the bank with cash, and even the incidents of cash loot will be overcomed. They hope that this tactic move might work out. The traders are free to use facilities of other banks also. Even the payment to the employees of the shop will be done through cheques..

He further added that the traders sending finished fabric outside Surat will do business as per their old routine, through cheques.

Over thousands of traders of textile trading body attended the meeting and agreed to the decision taken by the apex body to deal with present situation. In the meeting, officials of a private bank also remained present and explained the terms and conditions as well as the benefit of the swipe machines.