India : High level meeting under PM to boost textile & garment sectors

The Minister of State for Textiles, Shri E.V.K.S. Elangovan, informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question by Dr. K. Malaisamy that the Action Plan for the growth of the Textiles & Garments was recently considered by the High Level Committee on Manufacturing (HLCM) under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister.
The HLCM, inter alia, deliberated over the following issues:
On the issue of availability of textiles machinery, it has been decided to visit few countries having major textile machinery manufacturers to explain them about the opportunities of investment in India.
As there are only six major textile machine manufacturers in the world, they can be easily targeted to attract Foreign Direct Investment.
Regarding the issue of rupee appreciation along with high interest rates that has led to a deceleration in the garment exports, it has been decided to form a small group to look into the causes for recent deceleration in exports including rupee appreciation and other macro economic policies on the competitiveness of the industry and suggest measures to address the issue expeditiously.
In addition, the Employment-linked Skill Development Scheme, known as “NATIJA”, prepared by the Ministry of Textiles has been decided to be finalized soon for expeditious implementation.
The flagship Schemes of the Ministry, namely Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) and the Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) have been decided to be continued with adequate funds in the Eleventh Plan.