127 mills employing 41,118 people shutdown in past 3 yrs: Govt
125 textile mills employing 41,118 people have been shutdown in the past 3yrs on account of restrictions on cotton yarn exports.
"As on May 31, 2011, 127 cotton/man-made fibre textiles mills (non-small scale units) were closed during the last three years," Minister of State for Textiles Panabaaka Lakshmi said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
She said the government has received representations from the industry with regard to a supply and demand mismatch, huge inventories of finished goods piling up, restrictions on the export of cotton yarn and rising input prices.
Lakshmi said out of 127 mills closed, 38 mills were registered with the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) as of March 31, 2010. The BIFR decides on reliefs or concessions to be given to sick units.
To rehabilitate the workers rendered jobless due to closure of these mills, the government has formulated the Textile Workers' Rehabilitation Fund Scheme.
In April last year, the government had restricted cotton yarn exports to 720 million kg, which led to huge inventories accumulating with the mills.
However, the restrictions were removed from April 1 this year after the manufacturers found themselves saddled with massive inventories due to the curbs on exports.
In July, 2011, the government restored the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme providing for tax refunds on cotton yarn exports with retrospective effect from April, 2011.
The incentive was withdrawn in April, 2010, due to a surge in prices of the natural fibre.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.