Textiles Industry to achieve 16% growth rate by 2012

13 Oct '08

5 min read

The Union Minister of Textiles, Shri Shankersinh Vaghela, inaugurated the Woollen Expo at Godhra, Gujarat. He has also distributed insurance certificate to shepherds. Addressing on the occasion, Shri Vaghela said that as a part of welfare measure the Government have introduced Sheep Breeders Insurance Scheme and Sheep Insurance Scheme during the XIth Five Year Plan Period.

He said that presently, the Scheme covers the State of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana and Uttrakhand and the Scheme provides insurance coverage of Rs. 1,200 per sheep between the age of 1 to 9 years, at a premium of Rs. 44 per year, of which Rs. 19 and Rs. 25 are contributed by the Shepherd and the Government of India, respectively. The Central Wool Development Board, CWDB, Jodhpur is implementing the Scheme in collaboration with M/s Oriental Insurance Company of India Ltd.

Shri Vaghela said that the Shepherds Insurance Scheme is being implemented in collaboration with the Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd., to provide insurance coverage, as well as scholarship to 2 children of shepherd family studying in 9 to 12 standards @ Rs. 300 per qtr. per child, concomitant with the period of the insurance coverage.

The Scheme covers shepherd in the age group of 18 to 59 with an yearly contribution of Rs. 80 by the shepherd, Rs. 150 by Government of India and Rs. 100 through Social Security Fund by LIC, towards the premium. The Minister said that Gujarat is an important wool producing state with sheep population of 2.2 Million & wool production of 2.6 Million Kg. per year. So far 54,904 sheep and 1,607 sheep breeders have been provided insurance coverage in the Gujarat.

Shri Shankersinh Vaghela said that garmenting is an important segment of Indian Textiles Industry which employs around 5 million workers and has a great employment potential. The Apparel Training and Designs Centre (ATDC) is being opened at Godhra to provide training to both male and female apprentices to make them employable in the Apparel Industry. This measure will help in boosting the employability of local youth, said the Textiles Minister.

Shri Vaghela said that the Indian textiles industry is in a stronger position than it was in the last six decades, the textiles industry, which was growing at 3-4 percent during the last six decades, has now accelerated to an annual growth rate of 16 percent in value terms and will reach the level of US $ 115 billion by 2012. He said that the biggest achievement of the UPA Government was to turnaround the Indian Textiles from Sunset to Sunrise sector.

The rationalization of fiscal duties undertaken during the last three years has also provided a level playing field in all segments of the industry, resulting in the holistic growth of the industry.

The Minister said that the textiles sector has witnessed a spurt in investment during the last four years and the investments between 2004-08 were Rs. 1,04,506 crore and they are expected to touch Rs. 1,50,600 crore by 2012. This enhanced investment will generate 17.37 million jobs by 2012.

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