Looking Ahead With Hope!
Apparel|January 2018

Last year has been full of surprises and coping with their aftermath, for the Industry; and now it is time for the Budget. Samir Alam decodes the expectations of the Apparel Industry from the Union Budget 2018.

Looking Ahead With Hope!

The last Union Budget of India was all about broad growth across the various sectors of the economy. It was drafted taking into account needs in the aftermath of demonetisation, in addition to the overarching strategic needs for India’s rise as an economic superpower. With a quarter of investments directed towards the funding of the rural, agricultural and allied sectors, it presented an encouraging picture of development, while lowering the individual tax rate for a majority of the consumers. This combination of features generated a generally favourable consensus towards the budget. However, it made no new or significant proposals for the apparel and textile industry in particular.

This wasn’t surprising for many in the industry since the government had already announced the R6000 crore package in 2016. At the time, the Goods and Services Tax implementation was still months away and the optimism over its effectiveness seemed obvious, especially, given the government's strong assertion with regards to its immediacy. Given the seemingly temporary cash crunch in the industry, the roll out of the GST was not predicted as a further inconvenience. However, this prediction proved false. The GST reform came into effect with much fanfare, but also an equally prominent discourse of criticism from consumers and businesses alike. So, as the next year’s budget brings its discussions and planning, we are again mired in speculation. We attempt to set aside wanton speculation and present a level-headed analysis of the current state of the apparel and textile industry, while considering what can be reasonably hoped for, given the track record so far.

GST RELIEF AND REVISION

This story is from the January 2018 edition of Apparel.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January 2018 edition of Apparel.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM APPARELView All
All About Dressing As You Want
Apparel

All About Dressing As You Want

A. Das uncovers the current trend which is all about dressing as you want. Easy, over-sized, baggy fits and unstructured cuts are ruling every wardrobe.

time-read
6 mins  |
January 2022
Online Shopping Likely To Reach $1.2 Trillion By 2025
Apparel

Online Shopping Likely To Reach $1.2 Trillion By 2025

Market Watch

time-read
1 min  |
January 2022
Weaving A Sustainable Future
Apparel

Weaving A Sustainable Future

Brinda Gill talks to Ashita Singhal, awardwinning weaver, designer and social entrepreneur, and founder, Paiwand Studio, who is committed to converting textile waste into new, meaningful textiles.

time-read
6 mins  |
January 2022
Summer of 2022
Apparel

Summer of 2022

Heer Kothari walks our eager onlookers through the runways of New York, Milan and Paris, exploring the nuance of summer styling for men in 2022

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2022
Journeying for the Joth
Apparel

Journeying for the Joth

Brinda Gill drafts the interesting journey of Vinay Narkar, a textile designer and revivalist based in Solapur, spared no effort in the pursuit of joth, one of the lost weaves of Maharashtra, and reviving it.

time-read
8 mins  |
January 2022
Go Digital - Get Organised Reshamandi Style!
Apparel

Go Digital - Get Organised Reshamandi Style!

Heer Kothari explores India’s first and largest market-place, digitising the natural textile supply chain. It is a full stack ecosystem in the form of a super app, starting from farm to fashion.

time-read
4 mins  |
January 2022
Erotissch – Stitching differently
Apparel

Erotissch – Stitching differently

Chitra Balasubramaniam explores Erotissch, a brand by women for women, based on the concept of ‘Bed to street wear'.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 2022
Colourful Fable
Apparel

Colourful Fable

A. DAS interviews Karan Torani to find out the inspiration behind the designs of his label Torani and his thoughts on it being widely welcomed and connected well.

time-read
5 mins  |
January 2022
Going #PLUS
Apparel

Going #PLUS

Heer Kothari explores the growth of the Plus Size apparel segment in India.

time-read
4 mins  |
December 2021
Endorsing Desi Oon
Apparel

Endorsing Desi Oon

Brinda Gill discovers India’s indigenous wools, locally called Desi Oon, which hold potential for use in the apparel industry

time-read
8 mins  |
December 2021