The Minister apprised the media of the following initiatives and achievements of the Ministry during the past two years:
- Export Promotion: Apparel and Handicrafts, each recorded 22% growth and textile exports overall grew by 8% during last two years – compared to the previous two years. The share of textile exports in total exports from India has gone up from 13% to 15%.
- Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) rolled out in January 2016 with a budget provision of Rs.17,822 crores for the next seven years; expected to attract an investment of Rs. One lakh crore and generate employment for 30 lakh persons.
- Promotion of Handlooms: India Handloom Brand launched on 7th August, 2015 by Hon’ble Prime Minister to ensure quality assurance to consumers and increased earnings to weavers. Credit flow to handloom weavers streamlined.
- Integrated Processing Development Scheme rolled out to provide up to 50% assistance for Common Effluent Treatment Plants with Zero Liquid Discharge system, subject to a ceiling of Rs.75 crore; six projects sanctioned to support processing clusters.
- Garment Manufacturing launched in the North East with setting up of Apparel and Garment Centres in all the 8 North Eastern States to promote entrepreneurship in apparel manufacturing and provide employment to the local population; units in Nagaland and Tripura inaugurated in April 2016, unit in Mizoram inaugurated in June 2016; Centres are ready in the remaining states (excepting Sikkim).
- 24 new Textile Parks sanctioned under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks with a potential investment of Rs.4500 crore and employment for 66,000 people.
- Skilling (under ISDS): 3.75 lakh youth have been trained in textile trades; 70% of the trainees provided jobs.
- A new Scheme for Promotion of Geo Textiles in the North Eastern Region launched in March 2015 with an outlay of Rs.427 crores for providing quality infrastructure in the North East.
- Handicrafts promoted under “Linking Textiles with Tourism”; Special Projects for Integrated Development and Promotion of Handicrafts sanctioned in 5 States to benefit one lakh artisans.
- Promotion of sericulture: Silk production exceeded 29,000 Metric Tonnes during 2015-16; Bivoltine silk production registered a growth of 51% over previous years, reducing import of raw silk from China.
- In-situ upgradation of powerlooms: Major impetus given to powerloom sector through In situ Upgradation of Plain Powerlooms – 55,000 looms upgraded at a cost of Rs. 60 crore; rapier kits and enhanced subsidy of 75% and 90% respectively for SC and STs notified under the scheme.
- MSP operation in cotton: Largest ever MSP operations in value terms carried out in cotton season 2014-15, procuring more than 86 lakh bales of cotton to mitigate the distress of cotton farmers.
- Jute Development and Diversification: Jute Common Facility Centre Scheme launched in September 2015; Norms for mandatory packaging of food grains and sugar in Jute strengthened.
- Transformation of NTC: National Textile Corporation (NTC) turned around; has come out of the purview of BIFR in 2014.
- Fashion education: A New NIFT campus sanctioned at Srinagar at a cost of Rs. 325 crore; Extension Centre of NIFT operationalized at Varanasi.
- Promotion of Wool Sector: A total grant of Rs.29.41 crore has been released under Pashmina Promotion Programme; Foundation stock of animals distributed to 300 families in Kargil. Feed supplement was given to 40,000 goats per year preventing starvation deaths. Pashmina wool productivity per goat was enhanced by 9.3%.