Govt. help sought to scrap old spindles, looms

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 10. The Indian Spinners Association has called for a package of measures to ensure that the textile industry is able to deliver on the export and other targets set under the recently announced National Textile Policy. The steps sought include a scheme to scrap old and obsolete spindles and looms, reduction in excise duty on blended and spun synthetic yarns, removal of duty exemption for the small scale sector and withdrawal of anti-dumping duty on acrylic yarn.

The Association has called for elimination of obsolete spindles and looms on the ground that units with such uneconomic capacity were not only often flooding the market with spurious and substandard goods, but were also indulging in ``mindless'' price cutting, leading to the spread of sickness in other units also.

Pointing out that the Chinese Government had already decided to spend $174 million for a three-year programme to eliminate 10 million spindles, the Association has observed that in India there may be about 11 to 13 million spindles that need to be scrapped.

On the issue of duty reduction on blended and synthetic fabrics, the Association has said that this was essential if the Government's desire to promote a multi-fibre approach, as envisaged in the new textile policy, was to be fully realised.

Recalling that the policy of the diversification of raw material basket was adopted as early as in 1985, the Association has noted that cotton continued to be the predominant fibre, only because the excise duty on blended and spun synthetic yarn was double that on cotton yarn. Cotton still accounted for 75 per cent of the total fibre consumption in the country, though both the domestic consumers and the international market preferred blended fabrics, because of their special properties like easy care, wash and wear and longer durability. Presenting the charter of demands at a meeting here recently, the President of the Association, Mr. R.L.Toshniwal, also asked for expanding the scope of Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for the textile industry to cover investments on captive power generation units.

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Section  : Business
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