Lok Sabha Question No. 2465 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-16
Subject: Employment in Textile Sector
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: PRATIMA MONDAL

## EMPLOYMENT IN TEXTILE SECTOR

2465. SHRMATI  PRATIMA  MONDAL:

## Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंरी

be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has launched any special scheme for creating employment opportunities in the textile sector and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to publicise the said scheme; and
- (b) whether the Government proposes to allocate more funds for current year  for  strengthening  this  special  scheme  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof, State-wise including West Bengal?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंरी ( श्री अज )

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SHRI AJAY TAMTA)

- (a): Yes, Madam. Government has announced a special package for boosting employment generation and export potential of the Textile and Apparel Sector. The  details  of  the  package  are  at  Annexure-I.    The  package  was  publicised through different modes of media.
- (b): Funds allocated under the special package for the financial year 2017-18 are:-

|   S. No. | Scheme(s)                                      |   BE 2017-18 (Rs. Crore) |
|----------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------|
|        1 | Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) |                      200 |
|        2 | Remission of States Levies (ROSL)              |                     1555 |

The Government has announced a special package of Rs 6,000 crores for boosting the employment  generation  and  export  potential  of  the  Textile  and  Apparel  Sector. Salient features of the package are:-

## 1.   Labour Law Reforms

-  Government to bear 3.67% of employer's Employee Provident Fund (EPF) contribution  for  new  workmen  in  addition  to  existing  reimbursement  of 8.33% employer contribution under Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) for 3 years.
-  EPF will be made optional for employees earning less than Rs. 15,000 per month; thus, leaving more money in the hands of the workers.
-  Overtime  cap  will  be  raised  from  50  hours  per  quarter  to  100  hours  per  quarter leading to increased earnings of workers.
-  Considering  the  seasonal  nature  of  the  industry,  fixed  term  employment  will  be introduced for the garment sector. A fixed term workman will be considered at par with  permanent  workman  in  terms  of  working  hours,  wages,  allowances  and  other statutory dues.

## 2.   Additional incentives under ATUFS

-  The subsidy provided to garmenting units, under Amended-TUFS, is being increased from 15% to 25%, providing a boost to employment generation.
-  The  package  breaks  new  ground  in  moving  from  input-based  to  outcome-based incentives;  a  unique  feature  of  the  scheme  will  be  to  disburse  subsidy  only  after expected jobs have been created.

## 3.   Enhanced duty drawback coverage

-  In a first-of-its-kind move, a new scheme will be introduced to refund the state levies which were not refunded so far.
-  This move will greatly boost the competitiveness of Indian exports in foreign markets
-  Drawback at  All  Industries  Rate  will  be  given  for  domestic  duty  paid  inputs  even when fabrics are imported under Advance Authorization Scheme.

## 4.   Enhancing scope of Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act

-  Looking at the seasonal nature of garment industry, the provision of 240 days under Section  80JJAA  of  Income  Tax  Act  would  be  relaxed  to  150  days  for  garment industry.

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