It is time for the Government of India to liberalise policies and remove the ‘uncalled-for protection’ from the textile industry in the form of anti-dumping duties and certification requirements, which will eventually help in the development of the industry, according to an Indian textile industry expert.
Removal of the various anti-dumping duties and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification requirements levied by the government will bring down the prices of viscose, plastics, polyester, metals, tyres and cements by 15 to 50 per cent, Ramaswami, chairman and managing director of Loyal Textiles Mills told fibre2fashion.com.
Instead, government should help the industry get raw materials at competitive, international prices, he explains. Incentives should also be provided to the industry players, until they have a level-playing field in terms of Foreign Trade Agreements (FTAs) and negotiated tariff reductions as stated in the foreign trade policy.
If this is done, India can exceed exports of Vietnam and Bangladesh put together, he believes.
“During the last decade, several mistakes were made – like uncalled-for protection to monopolistic producers of essential material including raw materials,” he remarks. “The government has to start acting. It has allowed crony capitalism to continue for too long.”
Exports need to increase, and it cannot unless raw material prices reduce. The prices of raw material are kept artificially high by the protectionist policies, Ramaswami said.
