The labor-intensive garment manufacturing industry, which employs roughly 250,000 people, has warned of massive layoffs, with immediate impact on the small firms, should the current TRABAHO Bill is passed into law, which could be the last blow to their already declining export performance.
Investments in the industry to grow exports and substitute imports are a precondition for sustainable future economic growth.
Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani on Friday said that exports of apparel increased 2 percent in the last five years from 2014-15 to 2018-19.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said those FPIs who wish to be out of the net of the surcharge on high networth individuals may consider the option of structuring as companies as the foreign portfolio investors registered as trusts will have to pay the new tax surcharge.
The rupee snapped its three-day losing streak to close 17 paise higher at 68.80 against the US dollar July 19 as market participants pinned their hopes on an aggressive rate cut by the US Federal Reserve later this month.
Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani said that the government is implementing the Handloom Marketing Assistance (HMA) scheme for promotion of handloom products.