The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) is aiming to increase the value of exports from India from 13.6 billion in 2011-12 to $18 billion within the current fiscal. It is also aiming to hit the $50 billion mark by the end of the 12th Five-year Plan (2012-17) and expect investments to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh crore by the industry with an interest subsidy of Rs 15,880 crore.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, V Srinivas, Joint Secretary Ministry of Textiles, said that they had identified two components, short and long term goals, to boost the sector.
“Every additional billion in revenue translates into 1 million direct jobs,” he said.
Srinivas said the government had identified four main areas — Technology Upgradation Fund scheme, Integrated Skill Development scheme, enhancing fabric quality and processing and aggregation of a fragmented industry.
“We have a target of training 26 lakh skilled labourers in this year alone as we are setting up 145 training institutions across the country,” Srinivas said.
Throwing more light on other initiatives, he said Brandex (textile city) in Andhra Pradesh was fully functional. Besides, an integrated park in Rajasthan as well as a hosiery park in West Bengal , the government is expanding Tirpur operations and extending their knitwear technology to Ludhiana and Kolkata.
Srinivas also said that they would constitute a task force to study the reasons why Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and Cambodia were growing faster than India in the sector.