A day after meeting UK's Secretary of State Kemi Badenoch in Delhi, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said that exports by the Indian textile sector will get a big boost if the 9 percent import duty imposed by the UK on various items goes away.
Speaking to CNBC TV18 on the sidelines of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, he said that India is insisting for duty-free access for its textiles in talks for a potential FTA with the UK, for which the 6th round of negotiations have recently begun.
Pointing to the fact that margins are very important for a sector like textiles to become competitive, he stated that textile sector is also eyeing huge opportunities in Australia and UAE in view of India's trade pacts with both the nations.
Goyal said that the Union Government is in advanced stage of evaluating 18 PM- MITRA proposals received till now, which the government hopes to finalise after the current Parliament session. Terming the textile sector as "full of possibilities", he said that the sector is confident of achieving $100 billion export by 2030 and aims to become the largest creator of jobs in India after agriculture.
Goyal said that there would soon be quality control on silk. He also said it has been proposed to form an advisory group for geo-textiles, which would be on similar lines to the group on cotton.
He said an MoU has been signed between the Cotton Corporation of India, Textprocil, on the the branding, traceability and certification of 'kasturi cotton' in India. Textprocil said that Kasturi cotton brand would be promoted in India as well as abroad. Lalit Kumar Gupta of Cotton Corporation of India said the MoU would ensure global recognition for Indian textiles and the chain would eventually benefit farmers.
First Published: Dec 15, 2022 11:02 AM IST
