Textiles constitute the single largest industry in India. Its importance for the economy may be seen from the fact that it accounts for nearly thirteen percent of our industrial production and about thirty seven percent of the total export earnings. Next to agriculture, it also remains the main source of employment and income generation in the country. As per the 1991 census, the total number of weavers, artisans and craftsmen dependent on textiles and textile based activities were around 15 million and a major chunk of them were either women or those belonging to the socially and economically weaker sections.

With introduction of economic reforms there was need for policy changes. Many initiatives in this direction has already been taken by the government. The urgency faced now is not only for continuation of these policy measures but also for quickening their pace of implementation as all the existing barriers to global trade in textiles are going to end on 31^st December, 2004 and the industry should be prepared to meet the challenge. The major initiatives of the Ministry of Textiles over the last one year towards achieving this objective have been as follows:

1. Modernisation and Technology Upgradation

• The Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) was launched in April, 99 to provide easy access to capital for technological Upgradation by various segments of the Industry. The scheme is being implemented through selected nodal agencies /co-opted institutions. With further improvement and simplification including placing of the funds allocated with nodal agencies on a quarterly basis, the pace of the scheme has picked up. As on 31^st August 2000, out of a total 746 project proposals worth Rs. 10, 279 crores received, 542 proposals amounting to Rs. 3440 crores were sanctioned.

• The Technology Mission on Cotton (TMC) was launched in February, 2000 to address issues relating to the core fibre of Cotton like low productivity, contamination, obsolete ginning and pressing factories, lack of storage facilities and marketing infrastructure. TMC includes four Mini Missions (MM) of which two i.e. MM III for "improvement in marketing infrastructure’ and MM IV for ‘modernisation of ginning and pressing factories "are under the purview of the Ministry of Textiles. As on 30^th September 2000, proposals worth Rs. 42.94 crores (with Central share of Rs. 23.31 crores) under MM III and Rs. 83.99 crores (with Central share of Rs. 16.243 crores) under MM IV were sanctioned.

• A Technology Mission for Jute (TMJ) similar to TMC will be launched shortly for development of high yielding variety of seeds, improvement in retting practice for high quality fiber production, transfer of cost effective technology to growers, strong marketing linkages and widening scope for diversification of jute products.

• Export trends are a very important indicator of any industry’s performance. During 1999-2000 textile exports recorded a rise of 6.1% as compared to increase of only 1.8% during 1998-99. Between April-August, 2000, the growth rate has shown a further rise of 9.8% in dollar terms and 13.1% in rupee terms as compared to the corresponding period last year. There has been a positive trend in exports from almost all sectors of the industry i.e. ready garments, cotton textiles, handlooms, manmade fibres/textiles, silk textiles, woollen textiles, handicrafts and jute.

• The Government has also been able to sort out the issues regarding tariff lines and consequent specific duty levels with EU as well as US. Government has also been able to get EU to release partial exceptional flexibility of 3500 tonnes and promise the release of an additional 4500 tonnes of exceptional flexibility. This, it is expected would result in an export increase by around Rs. 600 crores. As a result, we have also got GSP benefits for certain handloom products from US.

• The Ministry has been taking a pro-active role in all WTO matters. The anti dumping cases have also been pursued vigorously it is hoped that the Panel will give a favorable in the anti-dumping duties imposed by EU on cotton bed linen exports from India.

• A New Long Term Textiles and Garments Export Entitlement (Quota)Policies 2000-2004 was announced for a period of five years with effect from 1.1.2000 to 31.12.2004 covering the remaining period of the quota regime.

3. Issues with major trading partners

• Utilising the Dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO and successfully challenging the imposition of quantitative restrictions on 19 categories of textile exports- in January, 2000 an Agreement was signed with Turkey in January, 2000 under which the annual quota levels of India’s textile exports to Turkey was enhanced by 50% over a time period of 15 months.

• An India-Australia Joint Business Group on natural fibres and textiles was set up to increase bilateral trade and investment in fibres and textiles between the two countries and to encourage technological upgradation by collaborative projects involving R&D, transfer of technology and enhancement of technical skills.

4. Decentralised Sector

• A comprehensive scheme called "Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana "(DDHPY) was launched w.e.f. 1.4.2000 to provide financial support and assistance to a gamut of handloom activities like basic inputs, product development, infrastructure support, institutional support, training to weavers, supply of basic equipment, marketing support, etc. The scheme is being operated by selected implementing agencies through State Governments by providing assistance for any particular or a combination of the activities as per guidelines prescribed. The total outlay approved for the scheme is Rs. 690 crores ( of which Center’s share is Rs. 360 crores and of State’s Rs. 330 crores) and will be operational during the X^th plan also.

• Two National Design & Product Development Centres, one at New Delhi and the other at Moradabad have been set up for design and technology related needs of the handicraft sector, and also to provide services of reputed national and international design experts to the sector.

• A new scheme for setting up of Urban Haats on the pattern of the successful Dilli Haat has been introduced to provide permanent marketing infrastructure facilities for artisans. Eight such Haats have been sanctioned at Ahmedabad, Agra, Bhubaneswar, Calcutta, Ranchi, Jammu, Karnal & Tirupati.

• Two new UNDP projects covering Carpets and Cane & bamboo have been approved. The objective of these schemes are to develop quality products with distinct Indian designs and promote their acceptance in the international markets..

• An "India Trade Mart’ will be set up to provide support to cottage and small scale handicrafts units/exporters in marketing of products through a permanent contact point within Delhi with access to foreign importers or wholesalers of handicrafts.

• An Indian Institute of Carpet Technology has been set up for providing support to the industry in facilities like designing, colour matching etc.

• The government is committed to development of the North East Region (NER). Given the region’s rich tradition in handlooms and handicrafts a "Conference of State Ministers in-charge of Handloom, Handicrafts and Sericulture of North Eastern States and Sikkim" was organised by the Ministry at Guwahati on September 21^st and 22^nd, 2000. Some of the important recommendations of the conference included focused approach towards export by developing synergies with umbrella organisations like Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC), North Eastern Handicrafts & Handlooms Development Corporation (NEHHDC), Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts ( EPCH), setting up of Urban Haat in a phased manner etc.

• A nodal center for upgradation of Textile Education has been set up at IIT, Delhi to improve quality of Textile training institutions in the country.

• A High-powered Export Promotion Board (HEPB) under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary has also been set up to coordinate activities of all concerned ministries towards maximizing export earnings.

• In 1985, a revised "Turn Around Strategy’ with an outlay of Rs.2005.72 crores involving modernisation of NTC by and revival and restructuring of viable mills by merger and provision of funds from the NRF for payment of VRS was approved. The funds for modernisation were to be raised from sale of surplus land and assets of NTC mills. However implementation of the strategy has been held up on account of many factors including necessary clearance for sale of land from the respective State Governments, particularly Government of Maharashtra who account for the maximum number of sick NTC units.

The Government policy has now approved a unit by unit approach towards revival or closure while protecting the interest of the workers. The VRS package is also to be made more attractive enough for the workers to opt for it. A proposal for introducing a scheme on the Gujarat pattern of VRS/VSS is presently under consideration.

1. New Textile Policy

• The government is formulating a new Textile policy to provide direction for a sustained development and growth of the Indian Textile Industry in the emerging and highly competitive world trading environment.

Cotton is one of the principal commercial crops. In India we have the largest area in the world – around 9 million hectares. But we are only the third largest producer of cotton in the world. The per hectare yield is only 300 kgs. compared to the world average of 558 kgs. per hectare.

Cotton plays an important role in the National economy providing large employment in the farm, marketing and processing sectors. Cotton textiles along with other textiles also contribute about 1/3^rd of the Indian exports. However, India’s share of global textile exports is only 3.1%. To increase the country’s share in global exports, in the WTO regime of liberalised trade, the country will have to take the challenge of competition in price and quality. Abundant supply of raw material of quality and at reasonable price will, therefore, be crucial.

Although, there has been significant growth in production, productivity and quality of cotton during the last 50 years, it is still way below the average world productivity, not to speak of the high productivity countries like Australia, China, USA and Turkey. Even productivity of our irrigated cotton is low.

RATIONAL FOR MISSION MODE APPROACH

The major constraints faced by cotton are:

• Almost 65% of the area under cotton is rained with erratic and poorly distributed rains during the cropping season.
• Severe attack of pests & diseases
• Transfer of Technology is inadequate
• Paucity of adequate quantity of quality seeds and multiplicity of varieties
• Inadequate marketing facilities and infrastructure, and,
• Obsolete ginning and pressing machineries and unscientific ginning practices.

Encouraged by the results obtained in oilseeds by Mission Mode approach during the 1990s, it has been thought appropriate to follow a similar approach for improvement of production, productivity and quality of cotton, bringing the entire gamut of research, development including technology transfer, marketing and processing of cotton under one umbrella, Government of India has decided to set up Technology Mission on Cotton.

• To improve the yield and quality of cotton, particularly in respect of staple length, micronaire, strength, etc. by developing better cotton varieties and through improved seeds and Integrated Water, Nutrient and Pest Management Technologies and their transfer to farmers.
• To increase the income of the cotton growers by reducing the cost of cultivation apart from increasing the yield per hectare by proper transfer of technology to the growers thereby increasing the production and availability of cotton for internal consumption and exports.
• To improve the quality of cotton, particularly in respect of trash, contamination, etc. by improving the infrastructure in the market yards for cotton, by providing better facilities for cotton marketing and reducing foreign matters, resulting in minimum contamination in cotton.
• To improve cotton processing facilities by upgrading/modernising the existing ginning and pressing factories, resulting in cotton processing with minimum or no contamination to achieve better value added products like yarn, cloth, garments, made-ups, etc.

MINI MISSIONS:

To fulfil the above objectives, four Mini Missions are established, under TMC as follows:

Mini Mission I : Cotton Research and Technology generation

Mini Mission II : Transfer of Technology and Development

Mini Mission III : Improvement of Marketing Infrastructure

Mini Mission IV : Modernisation/upgradation of G&P factories

MINI-MISSION I

Mini-Mission I with the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) as the nodal agency, has the following objectives:

• Development of short duration, high yielding, disease and pest resistant varieties/hybrids with appropriate fibre parameters to meet the needs of the textile industry.
• Development of integrated water and nutrient management practices for cotton and cotton based cropping system.
• Development and validation of Integrated Pest Management Technology for different cotton growing areas of India to improve yield and reduce the cost of cultivation to ensure better net return to the cotton growers.

MINI-MISSION II

Mini Mission II with the Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation as the Nodal Agency, has the following objectives:
Technology Transfer through demonstration and training Supply of delinted certified seed by setting up of delinting units Accelerating Integrated Pest Management Activities Popularizing water saving devices like drip, sprinkler, etc. Providing adequate and timely information input to the farmers periodically.
Government of India and State Governments on 75:25 basis will mostly share the expenditure in Mini Mission – II. A total amount of Rs.465 (Rs.350 crore as GOI share and Rs.115 as State share) is needed. Intensive Cotton Development Programme (ICDP) will be the main instrument for operation of Mini Mission II.

MINI MISSION III

The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, will be the Nodal Agency for Mini Mission III, with the present status and objectives as follows: -

• 70% of cotton produced in the country is marketed by private trade. The remaining 30% is marketed by the Cotton Corporation of India Ltd. (CCI), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Maharashtra State Cotton Growers’ Cooperative Marketing Federation (for Maharashtra only) and to some extent by other State Cooperative Cotton Growers’ Federations,
• Of the 4000 regulated markets in the country, many trade in cotton. The markets are under the control of Agriculture Produce Market Committees under the Directorate of Agriculture Marketing of the States. Cotton is marketed through commission agents in most of the States except Madhya Pradesh.
• Under Mini Mission III –30 market yards will be improved, 15 markets activated and 6 new market will be set up, during the remaining 3 years of the 9^th Five Year Plan. 60% of the cost of improvement will be borne by TMC and balance 40% by the concerned APMC/State Government.

MINI MISSION IV

The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India will be the nodal agency for Mini Mission IV, with present status and objectives as follows: -

• At present there are 4000 ginning and pressing factories in the country including about 500 composite units, comprising of both roller ginning and saw ginning. Saw ginning is confined to the irrigated Northern Zone, producing short and medium staple cotton. Roller ginning is popular in all other cotton growing areas.
• It is targeted to modernise/upgrade 150 ginning and pressing factories in the remaining 3 years of the 9^th Five-Year Plan under TMC at the rate of 50 units per year. Preference will be given to the existing composite units. 25% of the cost of modernisation/upgradation of ginning factory limited to Rs.20.0(twenty) lakh will be borne by TMC.

IMPLEMENTING AGENCIES:

Mini Mission I: Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), is the Nodal Agency for Mini Mission I. Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur; Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (CRICOT), Mumbai; National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP), Nagpur and other ICAR research institutes, as well as research centres of State Agricultural Universities under All India Cotton Coordinated Improvement Project (AICCIP) will be implementing Mini Mission I under the overall supervision of Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Research & Education and Director General, ICAR, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

Mini Mission II: It is concerned with transfer of technology and will be implemented by Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture through State Agricultural Departments of cotton growing states of India under Intensive Cotton Development Programme (ICDP). This will be under the overall supervision of Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Mini Mission III & IV: Improvement of market infrastructure and ginning and pressing factories for which nodal agency is the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Ministry of Textiles will implement the programme through Cotton Corporation of India and other field agencies. Secretary, Ministry of Textiles will be overall In-charge of Mini Mission III & IV.

The working of Technology Mission on Cotton will be coordinate by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Agriculture Commissioner has been designated as Mission Director.

An Empowered Committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary will be set up to oversee, monitor and direct the Technology Mission and also to decide the modifications in the components, areas of operation, etc, as may be considered essential from time to time.

Budget

The layout for all the Mini Missions for three years of the 9^th Plan is Rs.566.50 crore, with break-up as follows:

The TMC will have four Mini Missions viz. MM-I on research, MM-II on production, MM-III on marketing infrastructure and MM-IV on modernisation of ginning & pressing factories. The outlay required from 1999-2000 to 2001-2002 (IX Plan period), as under:

* Towards contingencies for MM-III & IV @ Rs.1 crore per year.

PROGRESS OF TMC AS ON 30^th September, 2000

As on 31^st September, 2000, under MM-III project proposals for improvement of 20 market yards, activation of 10 market yards and setting of 4 new market yards have been sanctioned. The total estimated cost is Rs.42.9356 crore out of which Government of India share would be Rs.23.3094 crore. Under MM-IV, 84 proposals for modernisation of ginning and pressing factories at an estimated cost of Rs.83.998 crore have been sanctioned out of which Government of India share would be Rs.16.243 crore.