Lok Sabha Question No. 4334 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-19
Subject: Technology Upgradation Fund
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Behanan Benny, K. Shanmuga Sundaram

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4334 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.07.2019

## TECHNOLOGY UPGRADATION FUND

## 4334.  SHRIMATI DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH: SHRI BENNY BEHANAN: SHRI SHANMUGA SUNDARAM K.:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंरी be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) was introduced in 1999 to attract new and appropriate technology for making textile industry globally competitive and to reduce the capital cost of the textile industry, if so, the total investment attracted and the subsidy released for the past three years and for the current year;

(b) whether the Ministry is having sufficient funds under TUFS and the amount of finance release to Tamil Nadu for the last three years and the current year, if so, the details thereof, if not, the steps taken to augment the funds under TUFS;

(c)  the  number  of  jobs  created,  applications  for  interest  relief  pending  and  applications cleared  during  the  last  three  years  under  TUFS  and  the  steps  taken  to  increase  the employment opportunities;

(d) the time by which the pending applications are likely to be disposed off; and

(e)  whether  the  Government  is  planning  for  expeditious  clearance  of  TUFS  and  tackling increased imports of garments from Bangladesh, if so, the details thereof?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंरी ( श्रीमती स्मृ तत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a): Technology  Upgradation  Fund  Scheme  (TUFS),  a  credit  linked  subsidy  scheme,  was introduced in 1999 to catalyse capital investments for technology upgradation and modernization of  the  textiles  industry  by  providing  specified  interest  reimbursement  and  capital  subsidy  for investment in upgradation of machinery. The scheme has been revised and restructured several times  in  the  past  and  the  latest  version  of  the  scheme  known  as  Amended  Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) was launched in January, 2016 for a period upto March, 2022.

Under ATUFS, a total of 6,999 new applications (issued with UIDs) have been registered in the online portal (iTUFS), covering a project cost (investment) of Rs. 25,603.98 crore during last three years and current year. A subsidy amount of Rs. 5,160.27 crore has been released under TUFS/ATUFS during last three years (2016-17 to 2018-19) and current year (upto June, 2019).

(b): The fund requirement under ATUFS is demand driven and the budget allocation under ATUFS for 2019-20 is Rs. 700.00 crore. A subsidy amount of Rs. 559.97 crore has been released under TUFS/ATUFS to the textile industry located in the state of Tamil Nadu during last three years (2016-17 to 2018-19) and current year (upto June, 2019).

(c) & (d): Under ATUFS, there is no provision for interest relief and only one time Capital Investment Subsidy (CIS) is provided to individual entity for investment in eligible benchmarked machinery. During last three years, a total of 7,09,472 employment has been projected under new cases  of  ATUFS  against  6,982  applications  (issued  with  UIDs)  registered  in  the  online  portal (iTUFS).

(e): To ensure expeditious settlement of subsidy claims under TUFS/ATUFS, the process has been streamlined and online iTUFS solution has been operationalized. ATUFS was intended to facilitate  augmenting  of  investment,  productivity,  quality,  employment,  exports  along  with import  substitution  in  the  textile  industry.  Under  the  scheme,  higher  rate  of  subsidy  of  15  % subject to a ceiling of Rs. 30 crore is provided for garmenting and technical textiles segments.

*******