The scheme outlines two categories with different incentives based on minimum investment of Rs 300 crore and Rs 100 crore and covers products such as jackets, jerseys, trousers, overcoats, polyester fabric and nylon furnishing fabrics. The government on Monday notified the Rs 10,683 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles that covers 10 technical textile products, 14 manmade fibre (MMF) products and 40 MMF apparel. The textiles ministry said that only those companies would be selected for the incentive under the programme which contribute 60% value addition in integrated fibre/yarn to fabric, garment & technical textiles and 30% in case of independent fabrics processing house.
Source: Economic Times
The government had earlier extended the FTP 2015-20 until September 30 this year due to the Covid-19 crisis Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the existing foreign trade policy (FTP) will be extended till March 31 next year. The government had earlier extended the FTP 2015-20 until September 30 this year due to the Covid-19 crisis. The Foreign Trade Policy provides guidelines for enhancing exports to push economic growth and create jobs. "We are notifying it today evening or tomorrow...We have decided to extend the policy until March 31 (2022)...and in the (new) financial year, we can start with the new policy," he told reporters here. He expressed hope that by that time, Covid-19 issues would be resolved. On March 31, 2020, the government had extended the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 for one year till March 31, 2021, amid the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown. Exports during April-September 21, 2021, stood at over USD 185 billion, he added.
Source: Business Standard
Nearly three-fourths of the textile and apparel firms are confident about doubling their businesses in the next five years considering the positive trend prevailing in the export market in the post-Covid business environment, revealed a survey conducted by the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF). As many as 257 companies across the state participated in the survey, which was conducted to understand the growth aspirations of the textile and apparel sector. About 76% of the firms were confident of doubling the current business in three to five years with the new capital expenditure cycle. “This shows a positive change in the business environment of Tamil Nadu’s textile and apparel sector,” said ITF convenor Prabhu Dhamodharan. Roughly 40 or 16% of the companies surveyed, showed keen interest to explore the IPO option. While the market capitalization of Indian equity markets crossed Rs 240 lakh crore, the combined market cap of listed companies in the textile and apparel sector is only 2.2 lakh crore. The capital market is growing at a rapid pace and the textile sector is also getting a lot of interest and attention from investors with valuations rallying upwards. “ITF will guide the interested companies in making value-added products, create platforms to enable the next generation to engage, and guide companies to step into equity markets in a structural way,” said Prabhu. Renewed opportunity for Indian players in the export market, structural reforms from the centre and the new thrust from the Tamil Nadu government to support the manufacturing sector is some of the major reasons for such growth aspirations, the survey added.
Source: Times of India
The goods and services tax council secretariat Monday notified the setting up of two GoM, one to look into the rate structure and another to look at systems reforms required to plug revenue leakages. The GST Council had decided to set up the two GoMs in its meeting earlier this month. India has set up a group of ministers to look into the rate rationalisation under the goods and services tax including the current slab structure. The goods and services tax council secretariat Monday notified the setting up of two GoM, one to look into the rate structure and another to look at systems reforms required to plug revenue leakages. The GST Council had decided to set up the two GoMs in its meeting earlier this month.
Source: Economic Times
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today said, the ‘Rules of Business’ have to be the same for all stakeholders. Addressing the 'Vanijya Saptah Samapan Samaroh', organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) here today, Shri Piyush Goyal said, “Irrespective of whether they are big or small business houses, or where they are from or any other differentiating factor, we would like everybody to have equal opportunity to do their businesses honestly, and grow their businesses.” The Commerce Minister said accountability and stipulated timelines should be there and Best Practices of various States or Ministries in Exports Development must be shared. Without setting a timeline, Shri Piyush Goyal said the Government plans to scale $1 trillion exports in both Merchandise and Services. “We must position India as a global player by becoming competitive,” he said. Referring to the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the United States, Shri Goyal said, many leading entrepreneurs have shown keen interest to invest in India during the PM’s meeting with heads of multinationals. Launching the ‘Ease of Logistics’ portal, the Minister said it will bring in transparency. Shri Goyal said the world is looking at India as the Favoured Investment Destination. “Innovation, Quality and Competition by Exporters is going to define the Brand India,” he said. Shri Piyush Goyal complimented the FIEO and the entire fraternity of exporters for the unprecedented success of events during the Vanijya Saptah including Vanijya Mahotsavs. Shri Goyal said events were organised in all 739 districts of the country during the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ observed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and all its offices during the last week. He said, over one crore people were directly or indirectly involved with the week-long celebrations, he said. The various events across the country were addressed by 23 Union Ministers, 9 Chief Ministers, 3 Lt. Governors and 26 Ministers of State.
Source: PIB
“Australia-India Business Champions Group’s role has become extremely important as it provides a platform for greater engagement between the policymakers of India and Australia at an opportune time when India is completing 75 years of Independence which is being commemorated by the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign. Both the nations stand united for sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and it is imperative to sustain the momentum for rebuilding as well as reconstructing the economy by focussing on enhancing the export potential. As the government has embarked on the journey of transforming India into a global hub of supply chains and re-invigorating the economy we would like to partner with Australia, one of our key trading partners for seamless integration into the Global Value Chains (GVCs). He said that our focus would be to chart a course for ensuring effective usage of the huge entrepreneurial talent, developing a domestic market with a thriving private sector as well as skilled labour. The key goal must be to strengthen international supply chains, and fully capitalize on the currently favourable geopolitical phenomenon.”,mentioned Mr Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles, Government of India while addressing the Inaugural Meeting of the Australia India Business Champions today. The Minister who is co-chairing the Australia-India Business Champions Group stated that this forum will play a pivotal role in supporting the agenda of the Australia-India CEO Forum by highlighting the vibrant role being played by the business sector of both the countries. He stated that while working as trusted partners, India and Australia must work towards enhancing the resilience of supply chains and greater engagement in the Indo- Pacific region. Mr Goyal commended that the bilateral relations have grown stronger post COVID-19 as both the governments worked towards keeping the supply chains functional and working style of services were re-engineered. The Minister mentioned that a plethora of reform measures such as the operationalisation of the National Single Window System are being undertaken for creating a conducive environment for the industry. He mentioned that the Business Champions of this group will play a major role in enhancing, deepening, and leveraging on the strong IndiaAustralia ties. “The Australia-India Business Champions Group’s key aim is to liberalise and deepen bilateral trade between both the nations and pave the way for collaborative economic growth.” stated Hon’ble Dan Tehan MP, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Investment, Government of Australia. He further stated that India has become an important and relevant partner for Australia’s economic strategy, especially in the areas of trade and investments. The India-Australia relationship continues to grow stronger underpinned by people-to-people ties, a shared past and other multifaceted commonality including cultural and social factors, presenting further prospects for the partnership. Addressing the session, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, affirmed that CII is fully committed to the business engagement of India and Australia. Important areas such as mining, education, defense, space and emerging sectors can be taken forward, he stated. He stressed that CII would complement and supplement the initiatives of the Business Champions group. Ms Jennifer Westacott AO, CEO, BCA highlighted that we must strengthen and reform regional and global institutions, so they deliver for our citizens. She appreciated this forum as it offers the value proposition for the Business Champions to engage directly with the top tier of Australian and Indian Governments on matters critical to business. Ms Westacott stated that India and Australia are at an exciting juncture for building a shared future in the Indo-Pacific region. The Session also witnessed the participation of other eminent panelists including H E Mr Manpreet Vohra, High Commissioner of India to Australia, H E Mr Barry O’ Farrell AO, High Commissioner of Australia to India, Dr Anish Shah, MD & CEO, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Ms Julie Shuttleworth, CEO, FFI, Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, Mr Mike Cannon-Brookes, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Atlassian, Mr Nitish Jain, President, SP Jain School of Global Management, Ms Verena Lim, Asia CEO, Macquarie Group, Mr Girish Ramachandran, President, Tata Consultancy Services Asia Pacific, Professor Duncan Maskell, Vice Chancellor, University of Melbourne. The Inaugural Meeting of the Australia India Business Champions witnessed participants from across Industry, multilateral organisations, academia, and media, among others.
Source: PIB
The Southern India Mills’ Association said the cotton textiles sector had an uniform GST rate of 5% The textile and clothing industry has sought a uniform 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST) across the textile value chain. Ravi Sam, chairman of the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), and vice-chairman Durai Palanisamy told journalists here on Monday that the cotton textiles sector had an uniform GST rate of 5%. The inverted duty structure is present only in the man-made fibre sector. Reports indicate that the government is looking at 12% rate from January 2022 for fabrics and garments priced less than ₹1,000. “The SIMA wants uniform 5% rate,” Mr. Palanisamy said. “If there is uniform rate at 5%, the compliance will be more,” said Mr. Sam. There will be no revenue loss for the government, they added. The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India said in a press release that the government came out with schemes such as production-linked incentive and mega textile parks mainly to promote export of man-made fibre products. The proposed increase in GST will hurt the cotton sector more. The Indian garment industry is largely cotton-based. Cotton garments, including traditional wear such as dhotis and sarees, will turn expensive, hitting the common man. Hence, the government should look at 5% duty across the textile value chain, the association said.
Source: The Hindu
The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) on Monday wanted the Centre to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with EU, the UK and Canada and ensure a level-playing field for Indian home textiles and garments. The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) on Monday wanted the Centre to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with EU, the UK and Canada and ensure a level-playing field for Indian home textiles and garments. Expedite Talks on FTAs, Enhance Competitiveness, Says SIMA Chairman. The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) on Monday wanted the Centre to expedite the conclusion of negotiations on Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with EU, the UK and Canada and ensure a level-playing field for Indian home textiles and garments. Agency These products at 9.6 per cent duty in the EU and the UK and 15-17 per cent in Canada make Indian products uncompetitive as there is no duty in countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, said the newly elected SIMA chairman Ravisam. "Our country should explore an early harvesting programme during the pre-negotiations phase of the Enhanced Trade Partnership for zero duty and India and UAE are likely to negotiate on FTA with the Group Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the second largest destination of India, after USA, with nearly US $ 29 billion," he told reporters here. The agreement is likely to be concluded by March 2022 and the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) is likely to give more opportunities to India, he said. Though India has signed several FTAs and RTAs like ASEAN, SAFTA, Asia-specific trade agreement and also with the countries like Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Chile, the country's exports have not increased mainly due to tariff and non-tariff barriers, logistics and external trade policies like GST, he said. Vietnam is a huge conversion centre and one of the top exporting nations of garments with almost US $ 30 billion as countries like China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan have made huge investments in Vietnam, he said. Vietnam imported over US $ 15 billion worth of fabrics last year of which India's share is very negligible, he said. Ravisam said yarn from India at zero duty, except for seven HS lines, are still at 5 per cent and that the Indian fabrics are in the sensitive and excluded list with 5-6 per cent and 12 per cent duty respectively. On the issue of the need to address duty inversion in certain segments of the textile value chain, he said the cotton value chain has become seamless and does not have much problem to be addressed except the issue of the refund of accumulated input tax credit on account of capital goods and certain services especially in the processing sector. Ravisam further said lower rate of GST has brought high revenue and any attempt to increase the rate of tax would have an impact on handlooms, powerlooms and other decentralised/MSME sectors that account over 85 per cent of the production in the textile value chain. He appealed to the government to bring the entire man-made fibre value chain also under 5 per GST. and also to withdraw the 10 per cent import duty on cotton, as the country has been mostly importing only 11-15 lakh bales of cotton as against the total consumption of 330 lakh bales in a year. Earlier, Ravisam was elected as the SIMA chairman, S K Sundararaman as deputy chairman and Durai Palanisamy as vice- chairman at the 62nd annual general meeting.
Source: Latestly
As many as 257 member companies with the combined yearly sales turnover of Rs 36,000 crore participated in the survey from manufacturing units across the value chain which includes spinning, semi-integrated, integrated, weaving, apparel, processing and home textiles. The Tamil Nadu textile sector is betting on growth with a focus on value addition, according to a survey by Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), a major textile body. ITF conducted the survey to understand the growth aspirations of the textile and apparel sector in Tamil Nadu in line with the positive trend prevailing in exports market in the post- Covid global business environment. As many as 257 member companies with the combined yearly sales turnover of Rs 36,000 crore participated in the survey from manufacturing units across the value chain which includes spinning, semi-integrated, integrated, weaving, apparel, processing and home textiles. While 30 per cent of the entrepreneurs have mentioned they were confident of doubling their current sales in 3 years' time with a 25 per cent Compound Annual Gorwth Rate (CAGR), 18 per ent mentioned that they will double their current sales in 4 years with a 20 per cent CAGR and 36 per cent mentioned about achieving the target of doubling yarn sales in 5 years' time with 15 per cent CAGR.
Source: Economic Times
Meanwhile, its nascent real estate division will be made a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The restructuring plan is aimed at monetising its assets, cutting debt and improving operational synergies. Raymond had a gross debt of Rs 2,470 crore as of March 31, according to Crisil Research. Textiles to engineering conglomerate Raymond announced an organisational restructuring plan on Monday, which will see its fast-fashion business consolidating with the parent company and the auto components and tools and hardware businesses merging into its engineering division. Meanwhile, its nascent real estate division will be made a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. The restructuring plan is aimed at monetising its assets, cutting debt and improving operational synergies. Raymond had a gross debt of Rs 2,470 crore as of March 31, according to Crisil Research. Its stock gained 1.73% to close at Rs 447.8 apiece on the BSE against a flat benchmark. As part of the scheme, the tools and hardware and the auto components businesses will be merged into JK Files, a wholly-owned subsidiary. We are consolidating the business to explore all options available to us for monetization, which will enable deleveraging leading to value creation,” said Gautam Singhania, chairperson of Raymond, in a statement. In November 2019, the company announced the demerger of its apparel business held under Raymond Apparel. The demerger scheme has been withdrawn and the lifestyle business will be transferred to Raymond to streamline the group’s B2C businesses.
Source: Economic Times
Along a complex supply chain, new processing technologies, fibres, dyes and finishes have the potential to significantly reduce the industry’s energy, water and raw materials. The International Newsletters Sustainable Finishing of Textiles conference will take place live online over three afternoons on September 30th, October 1st and October 7th from 12:00pm (BST). Feedback from the World Congress on Textile Coating (WCTC) held earlier in 2021 highlighted the commitment of the industry to reducing its carbon footprint and ensuring a sustainable future. “It is clear that as it emerges from the consequences of the covid-19 pandemic, the industry is committed to action and investment in material technology and machinery to abate its detrimental impacts on the environment,” says conference chair Adrian Wilson. “There is no doubt that the textile industry is currently in a state of flux, with environmental and economic pressures driving the industry towards new digital models, both in respect of how products are manufactured and how they are sold. “Many apparel brands have committed to ambitious goals regarding their sustainable performances and suddenly the clock is ticking. Along an extremely complex textile supply chain, new processing technologies, fibres, dyes and finishes are rapidly being perfected, with the potential to significantly reduce the industry’s energy, water and raw materials consumption. Caught in the middle, have been the fabric manufacturers, reluctant to take risks without support from their customers. All of this is changing, and it is changing fast.” The Sustainable Finishing of Textiles conference will seek to answer the following key questions: -What are the most promising new technologies? Who are the brands and companies driving things forward? -What legislation is around the corner that will positively impact on sustainable progress? The event will explore the materials, processes and machinery that can help dyers, finishers, coaters and laminators achieve new goals, rapidly, economically and practically. The programme consists of presentations from key companies speaking about the latest developments in: -Alternative materials, including fibres, fabrics, substrates, coatings, laminates, chemicals dyes, finishes and auxiliaries made from bio-based or recycled materials. -Growing and processing natural materials in the most sustainable and environmentally responsible ways. -Manufacturing processes and equipment developed to: reduce the consumption of water, energy and raw materials; reduce and/or re-use waste; exploit digital technologies, automation and sensors. -Designs that promote the ability to recycle and/or re-use post-consumer textiles. -Schemes to collect, sort and re-use post-consumer textile products, as well as collecting waste plastic for re-use by manufacturers; to reduce the impact of transportation; programmes to educate consumers in the appropriate disposal of products.
Source: Innovation in Textiles
Textile and apparel goods are susceptible to fraud due to their high duty rates. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) saw increases in some measures used to enforce trade laws and regulations governing textiles in the third quarter of 2021, including factory visits and audits, and collected more duties, according to new data. Textile and apparel goods have some of the highest duty rates of all commodities imported into the US making them susceptible to fraud. Textile risks include: schemes designed to circumvent textile tariff and trade laws include false invoicing, false marking and labelling, false claims of origin, illegal transshipment, misdescription, undervaluation, false declarations of right to make entry, false trade preference claims, and outright smuggling. Therefore, textiles have long been a CBP Priority Trade Issue (PTI) for enforcement efforts. In the third quarter, CBP collected US$701m in Section 301 duties compared to $697m in the prior quarter. Cargo examinations were up, totalling 3,946 from 3,578 in the second quarter of the financial year. 12 audits were also completed, up from ten a quarter prior, while one special enforcement operation was completed.
Source: Just Style
A five-year project is underway that will create sensor-containing smart textiles that can be used for remote health monitoring. The project at Loughborough University aims to overcome limitations associated with current motion detection techniques that can be hamstrung with limited range, restricted mobility (due to bulky, rigid components), high-cost, and the need of replacing/recharging batteries. The lack of infrastructure and trained professionals in rehabilitation is a worldwide issue that has been intensified by the ongoing pandemic, which has reduced access to healthcare.
Source: The Engineer
Fashion is notoriously one of the most unsustainable and pollutive industries in the world. Did you know that the average EU citizen consumes nearly 26kg of textiles every year and throws away about 11kg? In fact, since 1996, around 40% more clothes have been purchased in the EU, per person. As consumers compete in the never-ending race of keeping up with fast-moving trends, fast fashion reigns – bringing with it cheaply produced products and exploitative practices. But times are changing. Consumers are starting to be more tuned into more sustainable options, making the fashion industry more accountable for its supply chain and item lifecycle, from both an environmental and societal perspective. Now two-thirds of shoppers claim that limiting impact on climate change is more important to them since the COVID pandemic. In particular, millennials and Gen Z are savvier shoppers, being more attentive to the origin, materials, and disposal of their products. Retailers and fashion brands are also increasingly pushing their sustainability agendas, such as developing a sustainable range of products of their own branded products or a fashion recycling programme. Within Europe, there are a handful of startups that we are excited about that are offering tech enabled solutions to create more sustainability in the fashion industry. The startups in this list are fostering the circular economy and reducing carbon emissions and waste throughout various stages of the product lifestyle, for example through renewable textiles, rental platforms, clothes sharing, and second-hand re-selling platforms. All of these teams were founded in Europe in the last 1-3 years, and show promising signs such as having landed funding recently and growing their teams fast: Nuw – Founded in 2018, Nuw is a social network to really share clothes with people in your local community. Once you join Nuw, you can borrow clothes for free (excluding a small swap fee) which makes their offering essentially like sharing clothes with friends. Every time an item is borrowed or swapped on Nuw, they offset 25% of the resources that would have been used in the production of a new item. Nuw currently operates in UK and Ireland, has raised €456K in funding and has 8 employees. Thrift+ – Founded in 2017, this startup is powering circular fashion in the UK by helping consumers to re-sell their second-hand clothes. Thrift+ takes all the hard work of selling items online away from the consumer. So how does it work Re-sellers send their clothes to Thrift+ and the upload process and photography is managed by Thrift+ on behalf of re-sellers. Headquarted in London with a warehouse in Market Harborough, England, the company currently employs 40+ people and has raised a total of €1.7 milion. Hack Your Closet – Hack Your Closet (founded in 2016) is one of the first hybrid personal shopping and rental experiences for secondhand clothes. Every month, their stylists select clothes for consumers, which are washed and stored before being sent to consumers. By doing this, they are enabling the extension of life of products by 2 to 3 years. Headquarted in Stockholm, their service is currently only available in Sweden and France with future plans to expand to more European countries. The company currently employs 30 people and raised €353K to date. In 2020, the company circulated over 18,000+ articles of clothing. Reflaunt – British startup Reflaunt offers brands and retailers a white label solution for their customers to easily resell their past purchases directly on the brands’ e-commerce platforms. Items listed via Reflaunt are then offered for sale on more than 25 marketplaces across North America, Europe, and Asia, reaching over 50 million secondhand buyers worldwide. Reflaunt is based in London with 18 employees, and has so far raised €2.3 million in funding. Infinited Fiber – Finnish biotech startup Infinited Fiber’s technology turns celluloserich waste that would otherwise be burned or end up in a landfill into ‘Infinna’, a cellulose carbamate fiber. This new circular economy, premium textile fiber reduces the world’s reliance on virgin raw materials. Founded in 2016, the startup is partnering with manufacturing partners and global brands to bring out clothing collections to make Infinna more widely available. They have raised €44.6 million and currently have 27 employees. Renoon – Founded in 2021, female-founded Renoon is a platform that helps consumers discover sustainable and ethical fashion companies. The idea of Renoon was born when founder Iris Skrami struggled with finding a sustainable dress for a party. Shoppers can filter by attributes like materials used, carbon-neutral, vegan, and pre-owned. Only products that meet Renoon’s sustainability framework are shown on their platform. Renoon has curated more than 1 million products from over 200 partner brands on its platform. Renoon’s women-led team is based in Amsterdam and they have currently raised a total of €388K. Lizee – Founded in 2019, Lizee enables brands and retailers to launch, manage, and scale a fashion rental offering in just a couple of weeks. They power the technology and logistics of a rental offering on behalf of retail businesses through their white label software and their warehouse. Lizee has partnered with companies like Decathlon, Delsey, and Galleries Lafayette to power their rental programme. They are based in Paris with 28 employees, and have raised a total of €2.2 million to date. Hurr– Founded in 2017, Hurr is empowering women to extend the lifespan of their wardrobes through their secure, peer-to-peer fashion rental marketplace. Customers can either rent out their items to monetise their wardrobes or customers can rent an item for 4, 8, 10, and 20 day periods at a fee. They have launched partnerships with Selfridges and Depop and have created curated edits and collections with influencers and celebrities. Operating currently in the UK; Hurr is based in London and currently employs 18 people. What on Earth – Founded in 2020, What on Earth is an online community and boutique of carefully curated fashion brands with a focus on sustainability. They take a holistic approach to sustainability and are concerned with the whole process, from the supply chain of how the products were produced, to how items are disposed of after use. Their team is based in London and currently has 10 employees. Vividye – Founded in 2020, Vividye offers technology to apply colours and designs to textiles that can be later removed to re-apply new ones, without harming the material. This resource-efficient tech was developed by two chemists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, significantly reducing water consumption and the release of chemicals into the environment. Vividye is based in Gothenburg, and they currently have 7 employees.
Source: EU-startup
