The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector plays an important role in the industries of the country. This is the reason why the MSME sector is also called the backbone of the economy. And today we are going to take stock of the textiles sector. The various products that are being manufactured in the units of this sector are not only meeting the domestic requirements but also have a huge market in the export market. Whether it is about cotton yarn or readymade garments made in factories. 

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A large number of MSMEs are present in the textiles sector. So in such a situation, MSMEs are emphasising the challenges faced by them and exploring the new opportunities at the same time. Similarly, we will be also honouring Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for doing excellent work during the COVID through the MSME NATIONAL SUMMIT and AWARDS 2021. 

Apart from the textile sector, the industry leaders of various sectors such as auto components, leather-footwear and handicrafts have been handholding these sectors through the MSME National Summit. Today's summit will focus on the textiles sector. The leaders of the textile sector who participated in the program are Dr. A Sakthivel, President, FIEO and Chairman, AEPC; Ajit Lakra, President, Ludhiana Knitters Association and Head Textile Division, FICO; V. Elangovan, Managing Director, SNQS International Group, and the webinar was hosted by Saurabh Manchanda, SME Editor, Zee Business. The MSME NATIONAL SUMMIT and AWARDS 2021 presenting partner is Amazon, co-powered by Pharmeasy, Crypto Exchange Partner is BitBns, Domain partner is Godaddy, laptop partner is Dell, and special partner is Teamology.   

Ever since the global pandemic COVID-19 hit, the textile industry has been facing difficulties. Its impact is being felt from production to export. While discussing the approval of the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme, what will be its impact on the textiles sector, Dr.A Sakthivel said that it will definitely help us a lot.  

Sakthivel said that in fact, what we have been requesting so far is that we need a long-term policy to compete with other neighbouring countries. The government has now announced the ROSCTL scheme and extended it till 2024. In such a situation, we will get a lot of convenience from this scheme. We welcome this decision of the government. Apart from this, now we also have to compete with other leading countries. 

During the discussion, Sakthivel said that 10 years ago Bangladesh’s exports were $5 billion, but now their exports have increased to about $40 billion. At the same time, if we talk about India on the export front, then we have been staying at $15-16 billion for the last 5 years. 

Referring to Vietnam, Sakthivel said that 5 years ago their exports were $3 billion but now it has increased to $27 billion. In times of tough competition, we will definitely get help from the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme at the grassroots level. 

Discussing the challenges of raw materials for the MSMEs, Ajit Lakra said that when the industry was starting to revive again, yarn prices started rising in the country. During the past 6-7 months, it has registered an increase of 40 to 60 per cent. In such a situation, if the cost of raw material is naturally high, then your product will be comparatively expensive.

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So it will be difficult for you to survive in the competition. Lakra said that Bangladesh and China are importing raw cotton and yarn from India. In such a situation, it is also affecting the availability of raw materials for the domestic market. Therefore, we are requesting the government to focus on the export of value-added products, along with meeting the domestic consumption of raw cotton and raw yarn. 

After the first wave of the COVID, traders started getting orders from the markets of western countries. Discussing all the challenges, V. Elangovan said that the first wave of the COVID was in the month of March last year. It started and lasted for about 2-3 months. There was a big difference between the first wave and the second wave of the COVID. In the first wave, along with the markets, manufacturing centers were also closed. 

But in the second wave of the COVID, we faced a big problem. Actually, the markets of Europe and America were open, and we went through the lockdown phrase. Not only that, our rival countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia were also fully operational during this time. In such a situation, we lost many orders from the buyers, which then the neighbouring countries got. Actually, this was the time when the buyers started placing special orders for the Christmas.