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Fashion and Textile Industry expectations from Budget 2022: As Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present her third Union Budget on February 1, 2022.
Here’s what the Fashion and Textile Industry expects from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman:
Kapil Bhatia, Founder & CEO, UNIREC:
The fashion startups are expecting the government to improve the disposable income of the consumers as well as the reduction in GST rates of readymade clothings. Current GST rates of readymade clothes that cost above INR 1000 fall under the category of 12 percent and the government should bring it down to 5 percent.
The government, with its budget, should focus on improving the infrastructure and remove any kind of inconveniences in the supply chain for a smoother functioning of the fashion retail industry.
In addition to tax rate reduction, easier compliance and simplification of taxes are two of the major expectations of the functional fashion startups in the market. Moreover, the prime motive of the government should be to empower both skilled and unskilled employees.
Kunal Vaid, Founder, Resham Sutra:
We would like to see a more inclusive budget with higher levels of focus on women’s development and on rural employment and livelihood generation, as these sectors currently constitute over 50 percent of the Indian economy. New and fresh ideas are needed to improve income opportunities and to increase the productivity of rural women in the poor and underserved parts of the country.
Additionally, the Government must focus on the creation of non-agricultural income streams for bettering livelihoods for the rural women, as well as increase investments in community rural livelihood infrastructure building and development and furthering training infrastructure, including skill training for aspiring micro-entrepreneurs in rural India as well as technical training to the rural producers.
We also strongly feel that the scope of existing schemes/initiatives like textile mega parks need to be broadened and implemented for distributed rural production centres and producer companies — as they are the backbone of the Indian textile industry. Furthermore, the Government should address the need of setting up village-level procurement centres, and prioritize on ensuring easier access to affordable credit for all rural women textile producers with minimum documentation. To this end, including the implementation of schemes like the PM Kisaan to be in the name of women, irrespective of land ownership can be a great step.
Lastly, I would like to suggest that the Government should simplify the process of formation of rural-based producer companies and allow partial shareholding to promoter organizations. Such initiatives will go a long way and have a multiplier effect on rural incomes and the economy at large, and these have the potential to further reduce the need for mass migration to urban areas for low-paid, unskilled work.