why modernisation of textile is being delayed
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You wouldn't guess it from the official press release and Textile Minister Khurshid Alam Khan's comments, both of which are generous in praise of the results of the brave new textile policy, announced a year ago.
But the fact is that rarely had any industry been less in a mood to celebrate than India's cloth manufacturers were last month, when the Government toasted the first anniversary of the new policy.
Some 70 mills are lying closed; more than a lakh textile workers are on the streets; though the Government has set its face against nationalising sick textile units, the Gujarat Government was forced to do just that last month; production by the textile mills had dropped, and it was little solace that output in the power loom and handloom sectors had gone up.
Finally, the air has been thick with charges hurled at the Government for having failed to stick to promises made in the policy. Complained Jaswant Rai, president of the Northern India Cotton Textile Mills' Assocation (NICTMA): "The policy's intentions and objectives are very good, but the implementation has been shoddy."
He has a point. A committee to assess the viability of the closed mills began functioning only three months ago, simply because the Government issued the relevant notification only last January. In even more laggard fashion, a Rs 750-crore government fund to modernise the industry as well as a Rs 10-crore fund to provide doles to laid-off workers were announced only last month. Said an exasperated M.K. Mohta, president of the Indian Spinners' Association (ISA): "The Government's modernisation plan hasn't been put into effect yet. You get results only when you prime the pump."
Worse yet, the objective of paring the prices of synthetic textiles and sparking off a demand explosion has made little headway. The Government did not cut taxes on synthetics across the board, limiting the duty cuts to a few fibres and blends. The price drop that resulted was barely noticed, some companies refused to pass on the benefits of the lower tax rates, and a peeved Government recently jacked up some duties.
Meanwhile, labour is turning restive, and the Government seems to have developed cold feet about shutting down unviable units. An official committee recommended closing eight National Textile Corporation mills almost a year ago, but no action has been taken on the proposal. With more than 60,000 textile workers idling in Bombay alone, local parliamentarians like Murli S. Deora were worried enough last month to write to the textile minister urging him to swiftly tackle the unemployment problem. Said Deora last fortnight: "The textile policy was not supposed to serve the interests of the mill owners alone. Hardly anything has been implemented to help the workers."