Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday ruled out a single rate for the goods and services tax (GST), adding any further rationalisation of tariffs would be contingent on revenues. “Those who are speaking of a single rate for the GST have no understanding of the tariff structure. Food items have to be taxed at nil. ‘Common-man items’ have to be taxed at the lowest rate of 5 per cent,” he said. Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi had demanded a single GST rate of up to 18 per cent against the current slabs of 0, 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent. “Luxury goods, sin products, and products hazardous to the environment and health can’t be taxed at the same rate as ‘common-man products’. Wheat, rice, sugar can’t be taxed at the rate as a Mercedes car or a yacht or tobacco,” Jaitley said. He, however, held out some hope for rationalising rates. “In four months, we have rationalised the 28 per cent slab. Such rationalisation (in future) depends on revenue buoyancy,” Jaitley said.Last Friday, the GST Council lowered the rates for almost 210 items; 176 items were moved from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. The finance minister went on to enumerate the benefits of the GST. He said with a single rate per product across the country, all inter-state barriers had been removed and inspectors had disappeared. Jaitley said the government expected the benefit of the lower rates to be passed on to customers, checking inflation. The consumer price index-based inflation rose to 3.58 per cent in October from 3.28 per cent in September. The rise was largely because of food items but fuel and light — both largely out of the GST net — also contributed. “This is an advantage of an efficient tax system. Rationalisation in the transition will always continue. Wherever there is a scope for improvement and procedural simplification, it will always continue,” Jaitley said. Explaining the rationale for the rationalisation in rates done after the roll-out of the GST in July, Jaitley said its main objective was making the transition to the new indirect tax regime smooth. PTI said Jaitley debunked the Congress’ claim that it had forced the government to lower tax on over 200 goods, saying rationalisation of rates was in the works for three-four months and it was “juvenile politics” to link it to any election or political demand. He added the GST Council decided on the rate cut after the recommendation of the fitment committee. “It is a consensus decision,” he added. Congress has made high tax rates and increased compliance burden in the GST regime an election issue in the run-up to the Assembly elections in Gujarat. It has claimed credit for the rationalising of the rates.
Source: Business Standard
Hyderabad : In India, both the handloom weaver and the farmer come from the same background, both have many parallels or identical conditions that they face for their livelihood. The farmer gets empathy and benefits the handloom weaver gets only sympathy with hardly anything to encourage his existence. Unnati Silks, working extensively since 1980 in the field of Handloom & Handcrafted Textiles at the grass root level, is trying to draw attention of this Country towards the fact that when both farmers and weavers are from the same walk of life, then why burden just the weavers with GST. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 13.7% of the GDP (gross domestic product) in 2013, about 50% of the workforce. Very laudable and acknowledged since long as the prime contributor in a nation that traditionally for centuries has had agriculture as its main source of livelihood for the 85% population residing in its villages. The economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is however steadily declining with the country's broad-based economic growth, but still remains significant to India's socio-economic order. Textile plays a major role in the Indian economy, as it contributes 14 percent to industrial production and 4 percent to GDP. There are about 45 million people plus engaged in this industry in some activity or the other, making it one of the largest sources of employment generation in the country, second only to the agriculture industry. Having a tremendous potential for employment, Handloom contributes to one-fourth of the total textile production and quite significantly to the country's export earnings. But it is this sector of textiles that has always been talked about but nothing much has been done for it that could be considered as substantial or even satisfying.
WHAT IS THE WORTH OF HANDLOOMS?
Handlooms have always been acknowledged in India and universally as having extraordinary potential to fuel a continuous stream of new and interesting fare, year after year. Rich in possibilities from permutations and combinations applied to a whole host of factors like design, color, pattern, manner of incorporating, adornments and so many others, it unfailingly sustains the needed variety and diversity that answer's the expectant market's constant need for change and creativity. Read this note on handlooms. This is the opening paragraph, in the official note on the Handloom sector, where the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), mentions: The Handloom Sector is one of the largest unorganized economic activities after agriculture and constitutes an integral part of the rural and semi-rural livelihood. Handloom weaving constitutes one of the richest and most vibrant aspects of the Indian cultural heritage. The sector has an advantage of being less capital intensive, minimal use of power, eco-friendly, flexibility of small production, openness to innovations and adaptability to market requirements. It is a natural productive asset and tradition at cottage level, which has sustained and grown by transfer of skill from one generation to other. Handloom weaving is largely decentralized and the weavers are mainly from the vulnerable and weaker sections of the society, who weave for their household needs and also contribute to the production in the textile sector. The weavers of this industry are keeping alive the traditional craft of different States. The level of artistry and intricacy achieved in the handloom fabrics is unparalleled and certain weaves/designs are still beyond the scope of modern machines. Handloom sector can meet every need ranging from the exquisite fabrics, which takes months to weave, to popular items of mass production for daily use'. Both hit the nail on the head. Handloom is indeed a heritage art, a practiced craft that not only provides for the basic need for clothing but in addition makes it durable and interesting, besides making room for a whole lot of other included advantages. It is also one sector that has never received its due.
THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE FARMER AND THE HANDLOOM WEAVER
The farmer and the handloom weaver are majorly from rural backgrounds. One tills the soil, plants his seeds, irrigates when needed, harvests and sells his produce. The latter procures his raw materials, arranges his loom, weaves, adorns the fabric, completes his work and sells his products. Both have to toil, both have vagaries involved that disturb their lives and means of livelihood. Understanding the Eco System of Indian Farmers & Indian Weavers
Raw materials aren't cheap to the weaver.
Anything that has to grow in soil needs water. The farmer gets his water needs fulfilled by the benevolence of the rain gods or irrigation done through artificially created channels built by the government. What he has to plant, additives, etc. that go in as inputs are subsidized or available at reasonable prices to aid him in his task. The handloom weaver does not have the luxury of such heavy subsidies for his raw materials. He also does not have the kindly eye of the govt. or any agency to make things easy for him.
MSP -Minimum Support Price only for the Farmers
The farmer has a certain minimum price to bank upon which have been set up for him since ages by government depts. or agencies. The handloom weaver enjoys no such privilege, has to bank upon the goodwill of the trader to whom he sells his product or gives to get it sold and be satisfied with what he gets, which many a time is a pittance for his effort. There are times when the weaver has no customer and he is loaded with dead stock which fetches him next to nothing.
Waiver of loans only for farmers
When things go bad for the farmer, there is always some agitation or govt. intervention to tackle his problem of loan repayment. This could lead to easy or relaxed terms, extension of time, and further waiver or write off as bad debt, if there is political climate and govt. approval. The poor weaver never comes out of his misery simply because he has no godfather to work out any feasible solution for him nor intervene on his behalf to mitigate the conditions. The worth of his craft is acknowledged by one and all, his problems are his alone.
It is tax-free for the farmer
The greatest advantage to the farmer is the 0% tax levied on anything that is even remotely linked to agriculture. So he is able to command a price if it is good, at a lower price during slack seasons, and even helped out when there are natural calamities or crop damage due to any reason. But he is at least assured of some returns. With no levy of tax on the produce, you have very rich farmers too who have been able to amass wealth on this account. Not so the handloom weaver who is taxed like any other. Since long the weaver has had to buy everything that goes into the fabric at a price. The input costs being high the finished product commands a selling price that he has to put up that ultimately may not fetch him even the basic price for his fabric.
Electricity rates - nil to negligible for the farmer
The farming sector has for long been enjoying the advantage of free electricity or in some cases very low rates for the electric power supplied. This has led to misuse and theft of various kinds that have ultimately been compensated for by subsidies from the govt. or taxing other consumers of power supply higher, in the state. The electricity for them has never been grudged for irrigation purposes, but the misuse appalls even the most liberal in views. Compare that to the case of the handloom weaver, who is also mostly rural-based finds his time of work restricted to the daylight hours because of electricity, has no free electricity, subsidy or any other 'perks' enjoyed by the farmer.
Policies exist - lack of implementation for the weaver
The agricultural sector enjoys the benefit of all that has been instituted in its favour, by national sentiment, political will or govt. empathy. Policies, schemes, plans, benefits or any other items that favour the farming class get implemented without question. The handloom sector, has long suffered on account of well-thought-out plans and policies, that could benefit the handloom weaver, that do not get implemented and remain merely as agenda on paper. The apathy of the govt., the lack of political support, the missing public fervour in its cause, all work against the handloom weaver and his like, making them pawns in the hands of destiny.
The biggest blow to the weaver - GST implementation
The farming sector was paying 0% tax and the recently introduced GST does not apply to their produce even today. Naturally, life for them continues as usual. Mr.Devender Ladha, owner, founder and current CEO of Unnati Silks, says "For a sector that has a major chunk of its workforce as women, who are also not very literate, and till now which was exempted from tax is now subjected to 5% GST on its raw materials. Already in the throes of a vice-like grip of conditions not allowing them to breathe properly, this latest loading of GST on the handloom sector threatens to snuff the life out of the humble weaver." The GST compliance is an additional burden, to a community that lacks the basic knowledge of procedures, because of the low literacy level and the traditional custom of simple sell and receive, that would now, in addition, involve experts in urban areas to comply at regular intervals at a price, increasing their misery.
The reasons for a depleted workforce in the handloom sector
The number of handloom weavers is declining sharply because of the remuneration or returns not being commensurate to the effort but far lower. The power loom and mill sector are more paying in terms of returns currently and therefore given more favours and relaxations compared to the handloom sector by the govt. The younger generation finds it hard to adapt to the traditional skills passed down through generations and prefer shifting to other industries whose skills are easier & more paying. Technical up gradation of handlooms has been slow and hence meeting the market demand through traditional practices seems unrealistic in the current scenario. Increased constraints of credit availability have contributed largely to the dis-illusionment. The bottom line of today's situation that shows different lines of treatment to two sons of the soil, the farmer and the handloom weaver, favouring the one and merely applauding the other, shows a pitiful state of affairs that would have shocked Gandhiji, the Father of the Nation, who in 1919 had put the agricultural farmer and the handloom weaver on the same footing. He saw it as the former taking care of the food requirements, the latter the clothing needs. The handloom industry suffered on account of the ruling British not allowing the industry to come up because their own selfish ends would not have been met. Weavers are in equally pitiable condition as farmers of this country. And both desperately require support of the government and the entire country now, more so than ever before. Mr. Ladha, Founder of Unnati Silks states, "If only the handloom weaver got his due with some of the promises in policies met, and market encouragement and govt. empathy re-inforced with their support, Indian handloom - the heritage of a nation, the Pride of India, would see a far different story and redeem the country's glory in fashion to new heights."
Source: newKerala.com
GST Council impact: If tax is simple, revenue loss of Rs 20,000 cr will be made up fast. To what extent the GST Council’s move to ease the tax burden on consumers will pressure the fisc remains to be seen. Nevertheless, given how onerous the GST framework was turning out to be, it was imperative the returns filing schedule be made more lenient and tax rates be lowered. To what extent the GST Council’s move to ease the tax burden on consumers will pressure the fisc remains to be seen. Nevertheless, given how onerous the GST framework was turning out to be, it was imperative the returns filing schedule be made more lenient and tax rates be lowered. To that extent, finance minister Arun Jaitley, his team and the state finance ministers need to be congratulated for having responded to the grievances of taxpayers even if it means giving up some revenues. At this point, it is important the system does not intimidate assessees since the number of returns filed has been lower than expected, but it is picking up—as compared to the 6.5 million who were to file their summary returns for August, just 4.7 million have filed so far, but that number will increase over time. The increase in the ceiling for the composition scheme to Rs 1.5 crore, for instance, will make life easier for thousands of small businesses. Moreover, for close to 40% of the taxpayers whose tax liability is nil, filling out the form will be really elementary now. And for the rest, too, the schedule is considerably easier—for assessees with a turnover of less than Rs 1.5 crore, the GSTRN1 for sales details needs to be filed just once a quarter and not every month. However, taxpayers with an annual turnover of more than Rs 1.5 crore need to file every month. While the sharp cut in tax rates across the board—only 50 items are left in the top 28% slab—might seem populist, it would nonetheless be disinflationary and spur consumption spending. More important, lower rates should encourage compliance and over time broaden the tax base. The cuts in the tax rates will give smaller firms—ancillaries or vendors—an edge over unorganised players since the pricing differential would now be lower; this should encourage formalisation. To be sure, some measures taken by the GST Council, such as not allowing restaurants to avail of input tax credit, are seen to be distorting the format of the GST and also smack of the anti-profiteering law—in this case, the government decided restaurants were not lowering prices in keeping with the lower tax rates and so input tax credit was to be denied. On the plus side, the move has been accompanied by a lowering of the rate to 5% and it has been made uniform for all restaurants except those in 5-star hotels. The government estimates the loss to the exchequer, on account of the cut in the tax rates, at roughly Rs 20,000 crore or 0.12% of GDP, and if the losses materialise, the fiscal deficit could slip to 3.5% compared with the targeted 3.2%. However as the finance minister observed, the lower tax incidence and the more liberal rules for filing returns should result in better compliance and better collections. So far, the monthly GST collections have been rising from Rs 94,063 crore in August to Rs 95,131 crore in October, after a dip to Rs 93,141 in September; analysts at Credit Suisse observe these numbers are healthy given Q2 tends to be seasonally weaker. As of now, though the shortfall in collections by the states—compared to the monthly target of Rs 45,000 crore—has narrowed to 24% in September and further to 17.6% in October versus 28.5% in August. Once, the IGST revenues are allocated to states and the claims for transitional credit of around Rs 90,000 crore are sorted out, a clearer picture of the revenues will emerge. Given the system is now easier to deal with, it is likely revenues will pick up.
Source: Financial Express
The tax department has directed its field offices to reach out to businesses that have not filed returns under the GST but were paying taxes in the erstwhile service tax/VAT regime. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has shared the zone-wise data of businesses under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with regional commissioners to handhold them in case they are facing difficulty while filing returns under the new indirect tax regime. The CBEC is the apex decision making body for policies relating to indirect taxes. About one crore businesses have registered themselves on the GST Network portal. Of this, about 72 lakh have migrated from the erstwhile excise, service tax and VAT regime. "Field offices know which businesses used to file tax in the earlier regime. Now we have shared with them the initial GSTR-3B return data to match if anyone who is eligible for paying taxes in the new regime is left out," an official said. Under the GST, businesses with turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh are exempt. This threshold is higher than the earlier service tax or VAT. "We would go easy on businesses as we have just switched to a new taxation system. However, there are traders and businesses who have registered under GST and have not filed returns. We have asked our field formations to get in touch with them to check if they need some handholding," he added. Out of the one crore registered businesses, 15 lakh businesses have opted for composition scheme and will file returns quarterly. Of the remaining, 55.87 lakh businesses filed GSTR-3B returns in July, 51.37 lakh for August and over 42 lakh in September. "A significant number of businesses who have not filed returns actually have nil tax liability. They might be thinking that they do not need to file returns because they do not have to pay tax. We need to handhold them towards filing returns," the official said. The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, had last week cut penalty on account of delayed filing of returns from Rs 200 earlier. Now businesses with nil tax liability will have to pay Rs 20 as penalty and rest Rs 50 for delayed filing of monthly returns.
Source : Economic Times
In India, tax administrations have faced the perennial problem of defining the ‘small’ and providing tax concessions to them. The central excise department in the past defined small units as those having an annual turnover of less than ₹1.5 crore. The income-tax department defined small units as those with an annual turnover below ₹1 crore and who were not required to submit income-tax returns in Form 3CD under section 44 AB of the Income Tax Act. For the levy of service tax in the past, small units were defined as those with an annual turnover of less than ₹10 lakh. Finally, different States, especially in the North-East and hilly regions, prescribed varying turnover limits for providing VAT benefits to the small.
Combined definitions
The goods and services tax, therefore, faced the challenge of integrating all these definitions. After great deliberation in the sub-committee meetings, the GST Council decided that duty exemption would be provided to all units with less than ₹20 lakh annual turnover, and for this purpose the turnover of all business entities with the same PAN number was aggregated together to compute the turnover. Units below ₹20 lakh turnover would constitute the ‘small-small’, and ‘small-medium’ categories was meant to cover units with annual turnover between ₹25 lakh and ₹1 crore; these were brought under the composition scheme. Under this scheme the units would pay a flat tax on turnover and file simple quarterly return but would be ineligible to take or provide input tax credit. These segments largely cover the mom-and- pop stores who cater to small local areas in the B2C segment. The GST conclave at Guwahati provided further concessions to this segment. The turnover threshold for eligibility was raised from ₹1 crore to ₹1.5 crore. A uniform rate of 1 per cent on the taxable turnover was prescribed against the earlier provision of 1 per cent (for traders) and 2 per cent (for manufacturers). In addition, it was decided that even if units under the composition scheme had a services turnover of up to ₹5 lakh, they would be eligible to remain under this scheme.
A further boost
In a move to further boost small and medium units, the GST Council brought down the rates on a large number of items such as wet grinders, bamboo furniture and various handmade products which are mainly produced by small units. To reduce the compliance burden of returns filing for composition units and non-composition small units with annual turnover of less than of ₹1.5 crore, these units were allowed to pay quarterly and file quarterly returns. In order to bring more units under the GST net the units filing nil rate of returns have been provided with the option of filing a simpler version of the GSTR 3B returns. These changes will certainly help small units. However, a recent insightful article by an eminent economist made the point that the GST scheme still hurts small businesses supplying to large businesses in a B2B transaction. While deferment of the reverse charge mechanism scheme has helped, there is still a danger that large units may move away from purchasing from the unorganised sector if duty credit is not available. The way out of this is to reduce the compliance burden on the unorganised small and thereby encourage them to come under the duty-paying regime. A large part of the complexity of the returns filing procedure can be traced to invoice matching requirements which involve the uploading of invoices with their numbers. A possible solution could be that invoice matching for intra-State transactions could be done on a summary basis with less granularity by matching GSTR 1 with GSTR 3. The elaborate invoice matching through GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 which is now sought to be redesigned can be restricted to inter-State transactions.
About job workers
Finally, there is also a need to specially address the problem of job workers who are a distinct category of their own. First of all it is important to unify the duty rate for all job workers at 5 per cent. These job workers, unlike units under the composition scheme, work closely for large and medium businesses. Therefore, the duty paid by them must be allowed as input tax credit to large and medium businesses. There is, therefore, perhaps a case for a simplified scheme like the composition scheme for job workers with a simple returns filing mechanism but allowing for credits and, therefore, also allowing inter-State sales. This sector has enormous employment potential and is an integral part of the economic scenario. Hurting them would destroy many livelihoods. To sum up, the success of GST will also have to be judged on the touchstone of how smoothly it integrates small and medium businesses with the mainstream. Formalisation of the informal is an often stated principle. To achieve this, a number of procedural changes need to be made. Happily, some have been done at the Guwahati meeting but some still remain. This is a great challenge before the GST administrators but one can be hopeful in the context of the great sensitivity shown by the GST Council in its past deliberations.
Source: Business Line
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has conferred the award “Champion Sector Skill Council” to Textile Sector Skill Council (TSC) for its outstanding work in establishing skill-training ecosystem for Textile & Handloom industry. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jain Chairman and Dr. J. V. Rao CEO of TSC received the award. The award was constituted by MSDE for the best performing skill council among the 40 sector skill councils jointly established by GoI and various industries to meet the ambitious mission of empowering Indian youth with skill training and employability. TSC over the last 3years has established industry recognized training eco system for 67 job roles which constitutes to 80% of workforce employed by the industry. It also certified more than 1 300 trainers who are capable to provide both class room and on-job training as per national occupational standards. Till date about 400 textile mills are affiliated to TSC and have adopted the training ecosystem developed by TSC to train about 40 000 fresh trainees. TSC also facilitated to organize RPL programs and certified about 65 000 handloom and powerloom weavers of 17 states including NE and J&K. These programs helped some of the weavers in availing Pradhan Mantri Mudra Loan to become 1st generation entrepreneurs. These programs also helped a few Manipur weavers to get connected to European buyers. Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and MSDE Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu Ambassador of Japan to India Ms. Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank Ltd. Dr. K.P. Krishnan Secretary and Ms. Sunita Chibba Senior Adviser MSDE graced the function.
Source: Tecoya Trend
NEW DELHI: In a complete rethink of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the government will come up with policy interventions in key sectors that can help create jobs and sustainable economic development in the country. From 25 focus sectors presently, the government is selecting four or five to ‘nurture’ them, with emphasis likely on labour-intensive and high-potential sectors such as leather, textiles and garments, engineering, pharmaceuticals and automobiles. High-level meetings have taken place in NITI Aayog, the industry department and the heavy industries ministries to restructure the policy for the auto industry – identified as a high-potential sector – to create more jobs. According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, about 10 million youngsters join the race for jobs in India every year. The government is deliberating on ways to push global automotive companies to engineer vehicles in India and not just assemble them here. “No country in the world has developed without a thriving auto industry. We need to nurture our auto sector in a fiercely competitive atmosphere,” a senior official said. Invest India, the government’s investment promotion arm, has proposed several ideas for the auto sector to the heavy industries ministry. It suggested that the government should promote design in automotive engineering by incentivising companies willing to bring technology to India. “The future lies in technology transfer. India needs to take a cue from countries such as China, which was making less cars than us in 1999 and has surpassed us today,” said Vikas Sehgal, vice chairman, Rothschild, South and South East Asia. “The government needs to promote design and exports in the auto industry.” Rothschild has been engaged in devising policy strategies for key sectors by Invest India. On the table are stricter proposals for companies to engine er and design goods in India if they want to avail of benefits offered in the country. The government will also encourage JVs that bring international expertise to India such as the tie-up between M&M and Ford. In India, benefits for the auto sector include rebates on land cost, stamp duty exemption on sale or lease of land, power tariff incentives, concessional interest rates on loans, investment subsidies, tax breaks, backward-area subsidies and special packages for mega projects. “The government’s support to the auto industry has been crucial in all countries where the sector has flourished, including China, Japan, the US, France and Italy,” Sehgal said. India has the fifth-largest passenger and commercial vehicle market. It is estimated that 6 million-plus hybrid and electric vehicles will be sold annually in the country by 2020. FDI in the auto sector increased by 5% to $4.6 billion in the April-June quarter from the corresponding period last year.
ET View: Have A Tech Policy
The move makes perfect sense. As we rationalise taxes and work to remove infrastructural bottlenecks, policy focus on a few sectors would pay rich dividends. It would better coagulate resources for the task at hand. But in tandem, we require an up-to-date technology policy to incentivise production in such knowledgeintensive areas as next-generation telecom networks, supercomputing, high-end chip making and new materials.
Source: The Economic Times
Hyderabad: After taking a series of welfare measures for empowerment of weavers in the State, the government is all set to launch a revised ‘yard subsidy’ scheme in Warangal on November 18. Handloom and Textiles Minister KT Rama Rao announced the new scheme in Hyderabad on Monday stating that nearly 35,000 weavers would benefit from the increase in subsidy component. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said weavers and their cooperative societies are currently receiving a subsidy of 20 per cent on purchase of cotton, wool, and silk yarns as well as dyes and other related chemicals. “We have decided to increase subsidy rate from 20 per cent to 40 per cent. Additionally, beneficiaries can avail 10 per cent subsidy being provided by the Central government,” he said. Rama Rao was confident that the State government’s decision would benefit weavers to a large extent in improving their income levels. He felt that while weavers and other individual workers would get 35 per cent additional revenue, weavers cooperative societies can get an additional five per cent revenue. The State government allocated Rs 100 crore for the programme.
Source: Telangana Today
The Bharatiya Janata Party State unit has requested the Central Government to take steps to purchase poor quality seed cotton from farmers through the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI). The BJP expressed concern over the heavy losses suffered by farmers due to prolonged dry spell and subsequent untimely rains in October. Cotton crop was damaged on more than 85,000 hectares in 21 districts, affecting more than 92,000 farmers. The total sown area in the State this year was 19.07 lakh hectares as against the normal sowing area of 16.76 lakh hectares, and 60% of the total sown area is rain-fed. BJP State president K. Laxman submitted a memorandum in this regard to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh who was in the city on Sunday. The State BJP president accompanied by senior leaders G. Kishan Reddy and others briefed the Union Minister on the plight of cotton farmers at the party’s State headquarters this evening. He told the Minister that the rain affected cotton had moisture content to the tune of 15% to 20% while the CCI procures cotton with moisture content of eight to 12% in the normal course. With the CCI not taking market intervention measures, private traders are purchasing cotton paying less than ₹3,000 a quintal, which is much lower than the minimum support price of ₹4,320 declared by the Central Government. The Minister was therefore requested to pass necessary instructions to the CCI to purchase cotton from farmers paying the MSP of ₹4,320 a quintal even if the moisture content is beyond the prescribed norms. The BJP State unit also requested the Centre to set up separate statutory board for Turmeric at Armoor in Nizamabad district. Setting up of the Board would go a long way in value addition, grading, preservation and marketing, besides providing farmers with access to latest technologies. In a separate memorandum to the Union Minister, he requested the Minister to categorise turmeric under commodities rather than commercial/cash crop besides abolishing futures trading of the commodity. Turmeric cultivation should be covered under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and farmers should be provided with interest-free loans from nationalised banks against their produce, he said. In addition, the Centre should take steps to supply high yielding variety of turmeric seed to farmers at reasonable prices and provide 25% subsidy on exports, Dr. Laxman said. The Union Minister, he said, responded positively to the requests and assured appropriate action into the issue soon.
Source : The Hindu
According to the recent statement of state industries and commerce minister of Telangana, KT Rama Rao, the Telangana government will spend Rs 10.10 crore in the scheme to free around 2,500 handloom weavers from debt. The scheme helps to waive farmers’ loans up to Rs 1 lakh and loans taken by handloom weavers from nationalised banks and district cooperative central banks as working capital for production of handloom products from January 2014 to March 2017. Rao said that the state government had allocated Rs 1,270 crore to the handloom and powerloom industry in the 2017-18 budget to uplift the sector neglected by earlier governments. The sector was affected by inadequate raw material supply and marketing, stiff competition from mills, and obsolete technology. He added that the objective behind this allocation was to safeguard the sectors providing sustainable employment, the welfare of weavers, and to provide alternate sources of livelihood to the poor unemployed.
Source: YarnsandFibers News Bureau
The Bihar industries department to attract investments in the state apparel and textile sector in association with Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) organised an apparel meet at Ludhiana on Friday to showcase the initiatives taken by the Bihar government. According to a press release, Bihar principal secretary (industries) S Siddharth gave a detailed presentation to the participants on policy initiatives, infrastructure, ease of doing business and availability of land and skilled workers in Bihar. Siddharth said that they have launched an online single window clearance system for investors to submit their proposals from any part of the world. Approvals will be granted online, further around 2,000 acres of land is available with the state government for allotment to investors. Leading exporter and AEPC's Harish Dua at the meet thanking the visiting delegation, assured that a delegation of city industrialists would visit Bihar soon after which they would decide on investments in the state. Investment commissioner R S Srivastava at the meet said that there is large domestic market in Bihar having a population of over 11 crore. Also added that the state provides electricity for more than 22 hours a day throughout the state.
Source: YarnsandFibers
DyStar Group is introducing Cadira Denim as the sixth concept of their new Resource Efficiency Program.T he Cadira concepts considerably reduce water waste and energy consumption. Cadira will help Brands & Retailers and their production partners to save valuable resources to reduce the carbon footprint of their textile goods and to increase productivity by improving the utilization of machinery. As the first concept of the Cadira Module Cadira Reactive was launched at Interdye Shanghai in April 2016 followed by Cadira Polyester Cadira VAT Cadira Recycled Polyester and Cadira Wool. The sixth program is Cadira Denim which combines the most eco awarded Indigo in the world DyStar Indigo Vat 40% Solution with the ecological advanced reducing agent Sera Con C-RDA. This combination allows a salt free dyeing with a strong effluent load reduction. * Sulfates can be reduced up to 95% compared to dyeing with Indigo powder in combination with the conventional reducing agent Sodium dithionite (Hydrosulfite). * COD will decrease up to 80% compared to dyeing with Indigo powder and Hydrosulfite * Total solids can be reduced up to 90% compared with Indigo powder and Hydrosulfite. Cadira Denim additionally reduces substantial waste quantities from the ETP´s (effluent treatment plants) because no additional salt is created. DyStar will soon provide additional concepts for more resource efficiency and productivity in the textile production.
Source: Tecoya Trend
The international crude oil price of Indian Basket as computed/published today by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 62.01 per barrel (bbl) on 13.11.2017. This was lower than the price of US$ 62.66 per bbl on previous publishing day of 10.11.2017. In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 4056.90 per bbl on 13.11.2017 as compared to Rs. 4073.51 per bbl on 10.11.2017. Rupee closed stronger at Rs. 65.43 per US$ on 13.11.2017 as compared to 65.01 per US$ on 10.11.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
|
Particulars |
Unit |
Price on November 13, 2017 (Previous trading day i.e. 10.11.2017) |
|
Crude Oil (Indian Basket) |
($/bbl) |
62.01 (62.66) |
|
(Rs/bbl) |
4056.90 (4073.51) |
|
|
Exchange Rate |
(Rs/$) |
65.43 (65.01) |
Source : PIB
Canada and India discussed ways to expeditiously conclude the free trade agreement and investment pact being negotiated at the Ministerial dialogue in New Delhi on Monday. Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu and the Canadian Minister for International Trade François-Philippe Champagne directed the chief negotiators of the free trade pact to discuss and explore ways for early conclusion of the agreement, according to an official release. India highlighted the importance of services component under the proposed free trade pact formally known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). “The Canadian side assured that they would look into the issues concerned, including movement of natural persons or workers and the kind of provisions could be built into the CEPA,” the release said. Both sides also noted the exchange of wish lists on the services front and the Indian side reiterated that the architecture for services under CEPA is a vital focus area and response from Canada on positive elements has to be mutually beneficial. The Canadian side assured that it would look into the issues concerned, including movement of natural persons and the kind of provisions that could be built into the CEPA. Both Ministers also took note of the progress made under the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) and expressed their hope for an early conclusion. While Canada is pressing for an earlier conclusion of the FIPA, India wants the CEPA to be also concluded simultaneously. The two countries agreed to explore collaboration in the area of export credit insurance through India’s Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Ltd and Export Development Canada.
Source: Business Line
Manila, Nov 13 (PTI) Showcasing economic reform initiatives of his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited the ASEAN countries to ramp up their investment in India and said the task of transforming the country is proceeding at an "unprecedented scale".Addressing the ASEAN Business Forum, the prime minister said Indias Act East policy puts the 10-member bloc at the centre of the country?s engagement adding that most sectors of the Indian economy were made open for foreign investment. "Task of transforming India is proceeding at an unprecedented scale. We are working day and night towards easy, effective and transparent governance," he said. The prime minister said the focus of his government has been to make India a global manufacturing hub and that efforts are on to make the youngsters job creators. "Keeping our emphasis on Minimum Government, Maximum Governance, about 1,200 outdated laws have been repealed in the last three years. We have simplified processes to start companies and for other clearances," he said. Talking about the initiatives to introduce technology, Modi said digital transactions have increased significantly and that technology is being used to reach out to people. He said large sections of Indias population did not have access to banking services and added that the Jan Dhan Yojana changed that in a matter of months and transformed the lives of millions. The trade ties between India and ASEAN are on an upswing and both sides want to further boost the trade and investment cooperation. The ASEAN region along with India together comprises combined population of 1.85 billion people, which is one fourth of the global population and their combined GDP has been estimated at over USD 3.8 trillion. Investment from ASEAN to India has been over USD 70 billion in the last 17 years accounting for more than 17 per cent of India?s total FDI.
Source : Business Line
The early Q2 results suggest that the economy is undergoing some sort of growth recovery. But growth is still extremely weak going by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). There may be a potential problem brewing in the form of rising crude prices. According to a BS study, the combined revenue growth for a sample of 498 listed companies was 11.4 per cent yearon-year (YoY) in the July-September 2017 quarter. Interest costs are up 17 per cent for this sample — reflecting higher working capital requirements postgoods and services tax (GST). Operating margins are high at 16.1 per cent, but operating profit growth is low at 5.1 per cent and net profit growth is low at 4.3 per cent. This was the first quarter with GST, so the operating environment is new in that sense. The big sectoral gainer was metals and mining, driven by a surge in global prices. However, along with metals, crude prices have also risen, by 15 per cent in the past month. There have been production cutbacks by OPEC and Russia. More than that, there are fears of supply disruption driven by possible political instability in Saudi Arabia. The Indian crude basket was trading at $62- 63 per barrel in early November. Those are the highest rates since June 2015. Many analysts believe that prices could rise till $70 even though shale producers will start coming into action. Of course, it is entirely possible that Russia, Iran and other oil exporters will ramp up production and help push prices down. Low crude prices have been a key component of low inflation. The health of the current account and the size of the fiscal deficit are tied to energy prices. Low prices gave the government room to free retail prices and to impose high fuel taxes. Higher refining margins and free retail prices have helped engineer a turnaround in India’s PSU-dominated oil marketing sector. Bumper profits have also aided Reliance Industries in its drive to become a telecom powerhouse. There are sundry sensitivity studies linking crude prices to various macrovariables. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimates that consumer inflation rises by 0.3 per cent for every $10/barrel rise in price. The State Bank of India’s economic research assumes that the average price of the Indian crude basket could be $57 this fiscal instead of earlier assumptions of $55. That would mean a rise of 0.2 per cent in the current account deficit if other things are equal. However, political considerations could lead to either price controls (which means losses for the energy PSUs), or cuts in excise rates (which means lower revenues increasing the fiscal deficit). The increase in global crude prices has already impacted the import bill which increased 17 per cent to $43.4 billion for the April-September 2017 period, YoY, compared to the same period last year. The rupee has also weakened. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October was 3.58 per cent higher YoY. This reflects a rising trend, since the CPI for September 2017 was up 3.28 per cent YoY. It makes rate cuts by the RBI in its December review look more unlikely, even though the level is lower than the targeted 4 per cent rise in CPI. The fiscal deficit is almost guaranteed to exceed the targeted 3.2 per cent of GDP since 91 per cent of the full-year target had already been hit by October. The October manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is barely positive at 50.3 (below 50 is contraction) and the services PMI is looking at little better at 51.7. The September IIP also indicates that the growth recovery is weak. The IIP is up by 3.8 per cent YoY for September, lower than the 4.5 per cent registered for August. Manufacturing, with 78 per cent weight in the IIP, grew 3.4 per cent YoY in September and it was up 3.9 per cent for the half-year, April-September 2017. Mining, which has 14 per cent weight, was up 7.9 per cent in September and up 1.9 per cent YoY for April-September 2017. Electricity, with weight of 8 per cent, was up 3.4 per cent in September and up 5.7 per cent in April-September. Combined, the IIP was up 2.5 per cent for April-September. IIP contributes about 25 per cent to GDP computation. The Q2 JulySeptember GDP numbers should be released by end-November. On the global front, traders seem to be happy enough with the possibility that Jerome Powell would be appointed Governor of the Federal Reserve. But there are fears that the Trump administration could be in very serious trouble, as several senior Trump aides have been indicted in the investigation of possible collusion with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. On the bourses, the bull run saw a pit stop as prices corrected from the exalted 10,500 Nifty level. Both FPIs and domestic institutions remain buyers, so this is likely to be temporary. The downwards revision of multiple GST rates should provide a fillip to the optimists. But there could be some reversal of sentiment if crude prices spike again.
Source: Business Standard
A new cotton spinning mill is set to come up in Saparmyrat Turkmenbasy district, located in Trukmenistan’s Dashoguz region, one of the four inner-most regions of the country where cotton is mainly grown. When operational, the mill will have capacity to produce 6,000 tons of cotton yarn annually, according to Central Asian media reports. The textile industry is one of the priority industries for the growth of the Turkmen economy. “Big investments, made in textile industry, stimulate the growth of production of high-quality cotton products, which have a huge demand among foreign consumers,” Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said. More than one million tons of cotton is grown annually in Turkmenistan, making it the ninth largest cotton producer in the world. However, not all cotton is processed within the country. About 20 domestic textile firms that operate predominantly with Turkish partners produce around 120,000 tons of cotton yarn, 178 million square metres of fabric, 11,000 tons of knitted fabric and 7,200 tons of terrycloth. (RKS)
Source : Fibre2Fashion
The Ministry of Commerce and Textile has prepared a summary to highlight the problems and irritants confronted by the textile sector and it will be presented to the National Assembly to pave the way for immediate relief and sustained growth of the critical industry, State Minster for Commerce and Textile Haji Akram Ansari said on Monday. Speaking to members of the All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association, he emphasised that he was fully aware of the challenges faced by the textile sector and was trying to address them. “However, many of these issues are linked with other ministries and in an attempt to solve them, we will arrange meetings of textile sector representatives with senior officials of these ministries,” he said. Ansari said he had already brought the delay in release of tax refund claims and abuse of discretionary powers by tax officers to the notice of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan, who vowed to resolve the problems on a priority basis. Responding to a question about gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC), he requested the association chairman to nominate two or three representatives for discussion on the levy. Association Chairman Khalid Habib Sheikh outlined the problems afflicting the textile processing industry, saying high cost of doing business, GIDC, sales tax on coal import, turnover tax, withholding tax and stuck tax refunds had hurt profits of the sector.
Source: The Express Tribune
Ghana’s textiles industry which used to employ over 25,000 people has seen a decline in production since 2005, leading to massive lay off of workers due to the import of cheap Chinese textiles. Currently, the industry is said to employ a little over 2,000 workers as it nears total collapse.The woes of the industry started in the early 2000s when original designs made by Ghanaian textile companies were stolen and reproduced cheaply in China for the Ghanaian market.The industry which had so much potential was pushed to its knees, as high cost of production and the influx of cheaper and pirated textiles from China left it helpless. Speaking to Citi Business News, the Marketing Director at GTP, Reverend Stephen Badu stated that the workforce in the industry has dropped by over 80 percent since 1985. “In the 1980s and 1990s we had over 15 textile companies. Currently just three of us are now in active business, Textile limited, which is GTP, Printex and ATL. Now if you put the staff of the three companies together, we are less than 3,000” he said. The influx of cheap Chinese textiles hurt the industry such that by 2004, GTP had shut down some of its spinning and weaving departments, while the Ghana Textile and Manufacturing Company Limited (GTMC) shut down its production line in December the following year. The situation got worse and today the local textile industry is almost no more. Meanwhile, textile traders at the Rawlings Park, in Accra Central, which is home to textile stalls are blaming authorities for the influx of cheap Chinese textiles on the Ghanaian market. They tell Citi Business News authorities must be blamed for the near collapse of the industry. They allege that authorities allow pirated and cheap textiles from China into the country. But a worker in the textile industry and a member of the Taskforce Against Pirated Textiles, Francis Omare maintains that authorities are not the only people that are guilty for the near collapse of the industry. “The traders must also be blamed because they know how these textiles get into the country and they are aware it’s illegal to purchase those pirated Chinese textiles,” he said. In a bid to stop the imports of the pirated textiles, the Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyerematen inaugurated a taskforce in early October, this year. However, the import of cheap textiles still persists despite the vigilance.
Source: Ghana Web
Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) president Shabbir H Chawla has stressed the need to shift from traditional to technical textiles to survive competition. The dwindling small and medium textile units of Faisalabad need to upgrade to cope with changing trends in international markets and technical textile is the best option for them, he said. Apart from raising profits, the move will also help Pakistan double its foreign exchange earnings, he told media persons at the first international conference on technical textile at the National Textile University (NTU) in Faisalabad last week. As Pakistan is currently importing items worth $3 billion for use by the textile industry, there is need to manufacture its substitutes locally to save that money, he added. (DS)
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The Dutch delegation attend the 10th Expo Pakistan in Karachi mainly comprising of businesspersons and industrialists from the textile sector have shown deep interest in exploring opportunities in Pakistan. During a business to business session, the Netherland’s Deputy Head of Mission Josephine Frantzen said that the Netherlands embassy had been striving to promote trade and investment between the two countries and the Dutch business community was being encouraged to visit and explore the Pakistani market. They are always available to guide the Pakistani business community on how to enhance trade with their Dutch counterparts and explore opportunities of investment in the Netherland. Currently, a study is being carried out in the agriculture sector of Pakistan to examine the possibility of Dutch investment in this sector of Pakistan’s economy. In this regard, a Dutch trade mission’s visit is also being planned in order to explore trade and investment opportunities in the agriculture sector whereas another trade mission from Dutch textile sector is also likely to visit Karachi and Lahore. Businessmen Group Vice Chairman & former president KCCI Anjum Nisar highly appreciated the foreign delegates for their participation in Expo Pakistan. He informed that many multinational companies from countries around the world had been successfully doing businesses and had no issues in Karachi. During his interaction with members of Thai delegation, Anjum Nisar opined that the business communities of the two countries can collaborate in different sectors including agriculture, textiles, leather, surgical equipment and sports goods. With a consolidated population of 300 million, Pakistan and Thailand could do wonders. Exchanging views with Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Muffasar Atta Malik, Senior Vice President Abdul Basit Abdul Razzak, Vice President Rehan Hanif and KCCI managing committee members, the foreign delegates sought KCCI’s assistance in identifying the right partners for exploring investment opportunities and facilitating joint ventures for production and supply of goods in the Pakistani market. Exchanging views with KCCI office-bearers, Thai Chamber of Commerce Deputy Secretary General Dr Sombat Thiratrakoolchai pointed out that Pakistan and Thailand had been enjoying excellent relations for many years and the relations had been growing further with the passage of time. More than 75 companies are currently in Karachi to explore opportunities of expanding businesses and seek ways of how to join hands with their counterparts in Pakistan. Russian delegation, led by Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry Deputy Chairman Sergey Vasiliev, while expressing keenness to expand trade ties with their counterparts in Pakistan, sought KCCI’s assistance in finding the right partner. They also appreciated numerous products and services displayed at the Expo Pakistan. Delegations from Czech Republic, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan and Bangladesh also discussed matters of mutual interest with the KCCI leaders. Exchanging views with the delegates, President KCCI Muffasar Atta Malik stressed the need for exchange of trade delegations which would surely prove favourable and yield positive results. Efforts have to be made from both sides in order to further cement the existing relations between the business communities through constant interactions, seminars, single country exhibitions, and exchanges of trade and investment missions. He extended full support and cooperation to foreign delegates in finding the right partner in Karachi, the hub of national trade and economic activities. KCCI president pointed out that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) had opened huge number of investment opportunities for foreign investors who can surely benefit by setting up their businesses in 9 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being established across the country under CPEC project. Two of these SEZs are being established in Karachi where foreign investors can either set up their businesses or undertake joint ventures which would surely create a win-win situation, keeping in view the investment potential of this city. He was of the opinion that the improved law and order situation across the country along with the CPEC project had paved way for an economic boost in the next 7 to 10 years, making Pakistan the hub of economic activities of the region and a reliable gateway giving easy access to not just China but also to other Central Asian republics and beyond. This is the right time for the business and industrial communities around the world to take advantage of the investment friendly situation emerging in Pakistan. The 10th Expo Pakistan continued to receive overwhelming response from foreign delegates of Russia, Argentina, Vietnam, Netherlands, Jordan, Thailand, Czech Republic, Bangladesh, South Korea and Uzbekistan who expressed interest in enhancing trade and investment ties in some of the key sectors of Pakistan’s economy.
Source: YarnsandFibers
On the occasion, the local textile and garments entrepreneurs participated in the special trade related seminar on cotton. A delegation from Cotton USA and Cotton Council International was introduced to Bangladesh textile and apparel industry through the US and Global Cotton Outlook seminar, where they met Bangladeshi industry leaders. The international delegation made presentation on US cotton growth, world cotton supply, focusing on ethics, responsibilities, bale and packaging, which would facilitate consumers, mills and importers to make logical business decisions. The delegation included Mr. Bruce Atherley, Executive Director, Cotton Council International, Mr. William Bettendorf, Director- South Asia, Cotton Council International, Mr. David Camp, Vice President- Staple Cotton, Mr. Ricky Clark, Vice President, Cargill Inc., Mr. Navaid Baqai, Director- Technical, Cotton Council International, Mr. Roger Gilmartin, Textile Engineer & Senior Consultant, and Mr. Joel Reiffman, Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy. At the fashion show, the country's leading brands Amanat Shah Group, Yellow, Envoy Textiles Ltd, Hamid Fabrics Ltd, Sailor and Square Group showcased a selection of western clothing and traditional Bangladeshi outfits. The electrifying event showcased 100 percent cotton and cotton-made garments, highlighting Bangladesh's rich cotton apparel heritage.
Source: The Daily Star
The first European roadshow of 14 textile machinery manufacturers took place on 18 October in Bogota and the following day in Medellin, Colombia. With more than 100 Colombian textile producers attending, it exceeded the expectations of the organisers, the Belgian (Symatex), French (UCMTF), Spanish (amtex) and Swedish (TMAS) textile machinery associations. The organisers were particularly thankful to ALCOTEX (the Colombian Association of Textile Techniques and Professionals and of Dressmaking) and ANDI (the Colombian association of entrepreneurs), who helped organise and promote the events.
Understanding customers’ needs
“Our strategy is to be our customers’ partners and not only machine suppliers, that’s why we need to meet them at the highest possible level, face to face. This enables us to understand their needs and offer them the best possible technologies and machines with which they will be able to design new products, open new markets in a very productive, reliable, cost effective and sustainable way,” commented Elias Junker, Laroche area sales manager.
“This roadshow has been very effective. We met long-time customers and made new contacts. We will certainly meet again with the executives we have met, in international shows or on their own premises.”
Programme
The event format included a 15 minutes presentation by each machinery manufacturer. In parallel, a mini fair was held where they showed animated videos of their machinery running at client’s sites and showcased textile samples produced on their equipment. They were available to develop business cases and personalized technological solutions. The four associations said they were very satisfied with this result and will continue to explore the format and collaborate among the European Textile Machinery Associations to showcase the latest technology to different markets. Participating companies included: Bonas (Belgium) Canmartex (Spain) Dollfus & Muller (France) Escarre (Spain) Gomplast (Spain) Icomatex (Spain) Industrial Sagarra (Spain) Iro (Sweden) Laroche (France) N. Schlumberger (France) Petit Spare Parts (France) Picanol (Belgium) Tacome (Spain) and Van De Wiele (Belgium).
Source: Innovation in Textiles
The third edition of Intex South Asia 2017 , the largest and only international textile sourcing show and a robust platform for untapped South Asian intra-regional trade will be held in Sri Lanka. The Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasingha will be inaugurating the event. Over 200+ exhibitors from 15 countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, Australia, USA and more will be showcasing at the Intex South Asia event. Buyers from over 16 countries comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Dubai, UK, Italy, Australia, Austria, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Uganda and Nigeria to name a few, will also visit Colombo. The Woolmark Company, the official ‘Innovation Partner’ for Intex South Asia in 2017, will make a presentation on ‘Merino Wool’s Luxury meets Innovation’ and WGSN on ‘Fashion Trends and Forecast for Autumn/Winter 18-19 Collection’. Intex South Asia also presents for the first time ‘Fashion Fiesta’, the exclusive networking reception, where top 600 industry buyers from South Asia and other regions will interact with the international exhibitors. ‘Fashion Fiesta’ will also present a fashion extravaganza focusing on the transformation of innovative textiles into contemporary garments featuring collections from renowned Taiwan-based companies with the Textile Federation (TTF) and top companies like Reliance Industries, Bombay Rayon Fashions Ltd., Mekotex, The Woolmark Company and more. In 2017, the show announces the first time presence of Turkey, the textile hub of the Eurozone, and Switzerland. This year, the show will host multiple seminars with industry experts providing pertinent analyses for better understanding of global developments and their impact on South Asian industry. Intex South Asia has grown since 2015 as it keeps evolving its offerings to the industry. The Show will take place from 15th to 17th November 2017 at Exhibition & Convention Centre (SLECC). Colombo.
Source: YarnsandFibers
