Shri Malik pointed out that the industry and trade have drawn up an ambitious plan of reaching a market size of US $ 110 billion by 2012, coinciding with the terminal year of the XIth Five Year Plan.
While the export market is expected to be around US $ 50 billion, domestic market is expected to reach a size of US $ 60 billion from the present (2005-2006) level of US $ 29 billion. The industry believes that it is possible to achieve this market size requiring a growth rate of 13 percent per annum.
The realization of target would require huge investments with bulk of it being funded under the TUF Scheme. In order to realize this target an investment of approximately Rs.190,000 Crore is envisaged which will provide additional employment to over 14 million people by the year 2012.
With the industry depending heavily on the expensive imported machinery (over 70 percent of demand), the TUF Scheme was essential to offset the high capital cost.
Moreover, Shri Malik pointed out further that the Scheme had only recently taken off owing to the changes in Government Policies and the dismantling of the quota system at the end of the year 2004.
While welcoming the move to provide to infrastructure grants for cluster development schemes like Integrated Textile Parks, Shri Malik stated that this should not be at the cost of supporting individual companies planning large-scale investments in various parts of the country.
In view of the above, Shri Prem Malik appealed to the Government to continue the TUF Scheme at least up to the year 2012, so that the textile industry, which is so vital to the economic development of the Country, can stabilize itself in a competitive world.
marketing@alchempro.com
