Lok Sabha Question No. 1028 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-18
Subject: Recession in Textile Industry due to COVID-19
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Ramesh Chander Kaushik, Saikia Dilip

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1028 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.09.2020

## RECESSION IN TEXTILE INDUSRTY DUE TO COVID-19

## 1028.   SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK: SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री

be pleased to state :

- (a) whether it is a fact that textiles industry is suffering from recession due to COVID-19 pandemic;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the action taken/being taken by the Government in this regard?

## उत्तर ANSWER

## वस्त्र मंत्री ( श्रीमती स्मृतत ज़ूबिन इरानी )

MINISTER OF TEXTILES

(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (c): Globally  textile  industry  is  facing  some  stress  which  is  temporary  due  to  disruption caused by Covid-19 pandemic. The trading of silk business has reduced after imposition of lockdown due  to  Covid-19  pandemic,  which  in  turn  affected  silk  weaving,  processing  and  reeling  sector  and resulted in crash in cocoon prices. There was declining trend in cocoon & raw silk prices during April to  July,  2020  period  due  to  several  reasons  including  transport/communication  and  social  mobility issues  due  to  Covid-19  pandemic.  The  country  wide  general  fall  in  the  consumption  of  silk  has  an adverse impact on farmers, reelers, weaver and traders of the silk sector.  However, after unlocking measures there has been a marginal improvement in raw silk & cocoon prices during the month of August, 2020.

The normal capacity of the jute mills is to produce 2.80 lakh to 3 lakh bales per month. The last three month orders and supply are given below:

| Month       | Order      | Supply by Mills   |
|-------------|------------|-------------------|
| June 2020   | 2.75 bales | 1.78 bales        |
| July 2020   | 3.59 bales | 2.48 bales        |
| August 2020 | 3.52 bales | 2.32 bales        |

This  drop  in  production  activity  was  temporary  due  to  disruptions  caused  by  Covid-19.  From  the month of September 2020 onwards, Jute Industry's supply capacity has been improved substantially and it is expected to its optimum supply capacity shortly. No recession due to lack of orders/ business opportunity has arisen as there is no dearth of orders for supply of B-Twill Jute Bags for packaging of foodgrains etc.

To  withstand  in  COVID  19  pandemic, the  Government  of  India  has  announced a  special economic  package  viz . Aatma  Nirbhar  Bharat  Abhiyaan  for  boosting  economy  of  the  country  and making India self-reliant. Relief and credit support measures have been announced for various sectors including MSMEs.The weavers & artisans/karigars can avail benefits of these relief and credit support measures to revive their businesses which have suffered due to lock down necessitated by Covid-19 pandemic. Taking  a  step  towards  realizing  'Atmanirbhar  Bharat',  Handloom  Export  Promotion Council  has  endeavoured  to  virtually  connect  the  Handloom  Weavers  and  exporters  from  different corners of the country with the International Market.

With  more  than  200  participants  from  different  regions  of  the  country  showcasing  their products with unique designs and skills, THE INDIAN TEXTILE SOURCING FAIR was organised on 7, 10 and 11th August. The show has already attracted considerable attention of the International Buyers.

In  order  to  support  the  handloom  and  handicraft  sectors  and  to  enable  wider  market  for handloom  weavers/artisans/producers, steps have been taken to on-board weavers/artisans on Government  e-Market  place  (GeM)  to  enable  them  to  sell  their  products  directly  to  various Government departments and organizations.

A social media campaign #Vocal4handmade was launched on the 6 th National Handloom Day by the Government, in partnership with all stakeholders, to promote the handloom legacy of India and to ensure people's support for the weaving community.

The Chief Ministers of all States and UTs have been requested to instruct their State Handloom Corporations/Co-operatives/Agencies to make purchases of the finished inventory available with the handloom weavers/artisans so as to put some ready cash in the hands of the weavers to enable them meet their household needs.

To  deal  with  the  pandemic  crisis,  the  Government  endeavours  to  provide  online  marketing opportunities to our weavers and handloom producers.

Chaupals/e-Chaupals  have  been  organised  in  weavers  concentrated  areas  by  the  Weavers' Service Centres (WSCs) across the country to create awareness amongst the handloom weavers about the schemes of Government of India and to facilitate them

To promote e-marketing of handloom products, a policy frame work has been designed under which any willing e-commerce platform with good track record can participate in online marketing of handloom products. Accordingly, 23 e-commerce entities have been engaged for on-line marketing of handloom products.

The Government has also taken necessary steps  to  manufacture Automatic Reeling Machine (ARM) package indigenously to produce international grade raw silk, which was imported earlier from China PR. This may help local silk machinery manufacturers to sustain their business.

****