I furnish below a link to the full speech of the Prime Minister at the Valedictory Function of the Textile Millers Meet. http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=30799.
Excerpts from the speech: "It is a misnomer that handlooms have a bleak future. In fact, as incomes rise, handlooms can carve out a niche space for themselves, generating better returns for our weavers. The challenge is to improve them technologically, to provide greater design inputs and to have improved marketing channels. Private industry can be a major partner in enabling this transition of handlooms from low value to high value products. The Ministry can work out appropriate Public Private Partnership models for enabling this transition. "
This blogger's comments:
This part of PM's speech for the handloom sector is only a lip-sympathy filler. He wants the handloom weavers to wait with starving stomachs till the incomes of the people rise and they have the capabilities to buy handloom goods. He wants the Private Sector to make them technologically uptodate. Will they do? In the meantime, if the weavers die? Handloom/Khadi Sector's future is going to be extremely bleak, notwithtanding PM's promises.
The PM speaks of billions of Dollars. Excerpt:
" ... In addition, I am told that the Ministry of textiles plans to create Investment Regions for the Textile Sector. The phenomenon of agglomeration is quite visible in textiles. Such investment regions can reduce transaction costs and enhance competitiveness. Concentrated, contiguous regions with high quality infrastructure and covering the entire value chain can help obviate, to an extent, the burden imposed by multiple levies, high power costs, bottlenecks in shipment and delays in legal clearances. They can become textile hubs with billions of dollars of investment - both domestic and foreign. Developing such regions in a Public Private Partnership mode will enable leveraging of government investments in these regions. The Ministry should finalise this proposal at the earliest. ..."
This writer's comment:
We can see the PM's eagerness for the Investment Regions -- to pump billions of dollars. Naturally, there will be gifting away of agricultural lands to the industrialists both domestic and foreign. There will be abundant tax concessions and more sops to them. Empires are to be created, built and given to them. Otherwise they will not come. But the poor weavers will have to wait, because there is nobody to lobby for them. Here, the PM does not say "at the earliest". That means, the Textile Ministry can sleep in peace.
Quote from the PM's speech:
"...Our government is committed to facilitating the long term growth of the Textile sector. We have reformed the domestic taxation system to encourage growth and value addition within the country. The fiscal duty structure has been rationalized and excise and customs duty rates have been reduced. Except for the mandatory excise duty on man-made fibres, the entire value addition chain has been given an option of excise exemption. We have de-reserved the garments, hosiery and knitwear sectors from SSI restrictions. ..."
This blogger's comment:
Assurances galore. Will the Textile Mills be satisfied?
No comments:
Post a Comment