Apparel Export Promotion Council has recently approached UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for land as plans are in formation stage to develop an apparel cluster on the Yamuna Expressway in Noida which will involve an overall investment to the tune of Rs.300 crore. More than 100 factories will be set up in the land cluster spanning 200 acres generating jobs to lakhs of people.

Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Member Lalit Thukral said that every factory is expected to employ around 5,000-6,000 workers, more than half of which are likely to be women. They expect the land to be allotted within 2 months.

Besides, on the performance of apparel exports, AEPC Chairman Virender Uppal said that the apparel exports have registered a growth of 7 percent to the tune of USD 3 billion as compared to the same period of last year.

As the incentive in the FTP 2015-2019 has been withdrawn; it has a dampening effect on the overall trade. In the FTP 2015-19 announcements, garment export sector got 2 percent reward only on 239 HS lines out of 398 lines. The service sector got 5 percent scrip under Service Sector India Scheme.

Uppal further said that achieving the apparel exports target of USD 18.7 billion in 2015-16 fixed by the Ministry of Textile which is 11 percent higher than last year's actual achievement, would be very ambitious task and difficult to achieve, unless, the government accepts and implements the recommendations put forward by the AEPC.