Kolkata, Dec 20 (UNI) Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani on Friday said that textiles ministry has expanded the skill development programme, called Samarth, for the entire value chain of the textiles sector in organized sector which are being trained under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, with a target of 10 lakh persons.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with eighteen states and industry partners to take up skill up-gradation program, she added.
The Minister was speaking at the One-Day Conference held to commemorate 125 years of Knitwear Industry by West Bengal Hosiery Association here today.
Applauding the efforts of WBHA officials and staffs for their significant contribution to the industry, Ms Irani said, knitting and knitwear sector is predominantly MSME in size and mainly located in decentralized sector and is one of the major employment generator sectors. It also has a significant contribution on the exports of textiles.
Knitting is a major segment in the entire textile value chain, she added.
A special credit scheme under the Power Tex India for the knitwear sector has been formulated by the Textile Ministry and they are working together with industry stakeholders and have lauded this scheme, she said.
Ms Irani emphasized on purchase of new technology and new machines instead of buying old ones with the money granted under subsidy.
The Minister said that they have planned to organize special camps with members of WBHA and all knitwear units in West Bengal to educate them about the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) in next two weeks.
Around Rs. 55 lakh crore has already been sanctioned so far for knitwear park in West Bengal, she added.
Textiles Minister assured to look into the demand for creation of knitwear mark to give quality assurance to the customers.
She also assured that meeting with stakeholders will be held very soon to look into the issues concerning with industries with less than one crore turnover annually.
The Minister mentioned that special meeting with members of knitwear service centers would also be held very soon to resolve the problems faced by the industry.
The Textiles Ministry has approved combined SFC of PowerTex India Scheme and Knitwear Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 487.07 crores. Out of this Rs. 439.35 crore is for PowerTex for 3 years from 1.4.2017 to 31.03.2020 and Rs. 47.72 crores for Knitwear for the remaining period of 2018-19 and for 2019-20.
The Minister also released Coffee Table Book and gave away Legendry Awards and Hall of Fame awards on the occasion.
Rakesh Biyani, President, The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI); Dr. A. sakthivel, Vice Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC); Kunj Behari Agarwala, President, Federation of Hosiery Manufacturers (FOHMA); Ashok Kumar Todi, President, WBHA and Sandeep Seksaria, Secretary WBHA among others were also present on the occasion.
Published On : 20-12-2019
Source : Uni India
