Of Funds & Fabrics

Samir Alam explains the intricacies of the Union Budget 2018 and its impact on the textile industry.

- Samir Alam

The last two years have been challenging for the textile industry in India. With the announcement of demonetisation in November 2016, and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax in mid-2017, the industry has witnessed a change in how it needs to conduct business. As business models are quickly learning to adapt to digital payments and new tax policies, there have been additional market forces making things difficult. Overall, there has been a slower pace in growth for the domestic apparel sector, due to global competition. At the same time, fibre yarn exports have taken a hit as demand from China has reduced. The demands for a supportive budgetary allocation, with respect to refund of state levies and interest benefits, have been at the top of the list of expectations from the budget. The hope has always been that the government will recognise these challenges and provide adequate support. In Budget 2018, the government has proposed quite a number of measures for the textile industry which may prove to be integral towards its success.

BOOSTS UNDER BUDGET 2018