The Ministry of Textiles has proposed two new schemes – New Powerloom Credit Yojana and Solar Energy Scheme –for the powerloom sector. Disclosing this, the Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said that these schemes are currently being examined by the government and have been introduced to help powerlooms to operate at their optimal capacities and avoid stoppages. Powerlooms in certain states like Gujarat and Maharashtra are operating at sub-optimal capacities.
The Government has already introduced multiple schemes to accelerate the development of the powerloom sector. These include in-situ upgradation scheme for plain powerlooms, Group Workshed Scheme to help in the construction of worksheds, Group Insurance Scheme for social security, Integrated Skill Development Scheme (ISDS) for skill upgradation and Integrated Scheme for Powerloom Sector Development (ISPSD) for extending support in the form of buyer seller meet, yarn banks and setting up of common facility centres.
Additionally, the Government had earlier approved a special package for the apparel sector of Rs 6,000 crore, which includes special incentives for employment generation, relaxation under Section 80JJAA of Income Tax Act and enhanced duty drawback covering State levies among other things.