Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani on Friday affirmed that India would become 'completely self-sufficient' in silk in the next two years.
She said that in the production of silk, India is second after China.
Irani was addressing a programme organised by business chamber FICCI.
She also said that technical textiles is the future of textiles and that she was keen on taking it forward.
Indian textiles minister Smriti Irani at the investor’s summit that concluded in state capital Lucknow on February 22, announced a proposal to jointly set up a yarn depot with the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government to give a further boost to the textile sector in the state, which garnered proposals worth Rs 7,000 crore.
The proposal to set up yarn depot in UP is through which weavers can directly purchase yarn at subsidised rates, as subsidies hardly reached weavers, a top Indian newspaper quoted the minister as telling the summit.
The Budget allocation for remission of state levies (ROSL) scheme has been raised to Rs 2,163.85 crore from Rs 1,555 crore in 2017-18, initiatives like 39 percent increase would help boost textile export, said Textile Minister Smriti Irani.
Allocations under the technology upgradation fund scheme (TUFS) have also been increased by 15 percent in the Budget.
Irani said that the Rs 6,000-crore package announced for apparel sector last year, and 39 percent increase in ROSL would help push the exports.
India has strengths in production and exports of almost all kinds of textiles and apparel including all handloom and handicraft products that demonstrate the unique skills of the country's weavers and artisans. To leverage country’s strength in textile value chain, Minister for Textiles Smriti Irani at a seminar on India-Asean weaving textile relations on Tuesday said that with the ability to produce a diverse range of products, India has the potential to become a one-stop sourcing destination for brands and retailers from Asean.
Textile Minister Smriti Irani at the 22nd Apparel Export Promotion Council Export Wards in the national capital said that the textile sector in the country comprising of a fair share of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) despite the change in global markets and challenges, the sector is performing at par with other countries competitively.
Also the country is finding its place as an emerging Fashion centre with an enormous raw material and manufacturing base on the country along with the talent in terms of designing.
Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani, who is in Goa to commemorate the completion of three years of the Narendra Modi-led Union government, addressing a press conference stated that the central government would go all out to revive and support the Kunbi saree, and such a support would come for the revival of related skills and crafts, which have been identified to be languishing.
Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani responding to a question during a press conference today said that 'GST on the job work has been brought down from 18 to five per cent.
It has been duly addressed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the GST Council.
The concern of the textile industry has been addressed by reducing GST rates on job work of textile yarn and fabric manufacturing from 18 to 5 percent and this has been done for the entire textile chain.
Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani said that a conference on GST will be held soon to decide the rate, hinting that the textile industry is expected to have uniform GST rate, responding to pleas at a meeting of textile industries associations and stakeholders in Coimbatore, for fixing five per cent GST rate, the lowest slab for the industry.
The Minister urged the industry associations to give suggestions and views during meetings that will be held in different cities shortly. She also indicated that there might be a uniform rate across the value chain.
Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani visited to Tirupur textile industry to accord thrust to replacement of old looms with new rapier shuttleless looms, under the Powertex scheme that brings together all existing schemes for the sector, while also tailoring them to meet the practical industry requirements.
The Minister took stock of the facilities at the Powerloom Service Centre at Surampatti in the city and held discussions on the implementation of central schemes the new Powertex scheme which would pave way for the manufacture of 'zero defect’ products in the textile sector.
After the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs had increased MSP by Rs 300 to Rs 3,500 per quintal for 2017-18 season, the Union textiles minister Smriti Irani along with the Jute Corporation of India and the National Jute Board has asked to help increase the supply of certified jute seeds at a cheaper price to farmers in consultation with the National Seeds Corporation.
Irani gave these directions at a recent inter-department meeting which discussed concerns raised by the industry about the poor grade of raw jute, which was affecting the quality of finished bags.
