NEWS BRIEFS Surat, Jaipur, Varanasi and Jalandhar and met people in various sectors to understand their problems to improve the textile industry.
Govt. Reimburses losses to CCI on sale of cotton procured under MSP
Considering that many poor people are involved in handloom sector, the Union government is making a provision of Rs 1,000 crore to revive the industry. Through the facility, loans can be issued to buy raw material and machines at a nominal interest rate, said the minister. This would reduce workload and stress among the people dependent on the handloom sector.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, on June 28, approved reimbursement of losses amounting to Rs. 719.41 crore to the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) on Minimum Support Price (MSP) operations in the cotton season 2012-13.
To check fluctuation of cotton prices that pushes industry into uncertainty, the minister said, “At least Rs 20,000 crore would be required to save the industry from such an uncertainty. However, the government is ready to extend at least Rs 800 crore to deal with fluctuation issue.�
The Government of India, under the Price Support System (PSS) for the cotton season 2012-13 fixed the MSP for Long Staple (LS) and Medium Staple (MS) varieties of raw cotton at Rs.3,900/- per quintal and Rs.3,600/ - per quintal respectively. This led to a hike in MSP price of 29 percent and 18 percent respectively over the previous year.
Remote sensing Vice-chairperson of the Central Silk Board, Monika S Garg, said the board would encourage production of Tussar, Eri, Muga and Mulberry Vanya varieties of silk. As the traditional areas of raw silk production have shrunk due to industrial activities particularly in and around the Bengaluru International Airport, the Silk Board is searching for non-traditional sectors with the help of Indian Space Research Organisation through the Remote Sensing Technology to encourage raw silk production.
CCI would be conducting domestic and export sales. The apportionment of these sales would be decided by an inter ministerial committee consisting of representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce, Textiles and the Department of Revenue, to strike an appropriate balance between interests of domestic users and producers.
Cotton prices in Andhra Pradesh touched MSP prices in October 2012 and procurement under MSP operations commenced in the districts of Warangal, Guntur and Adilabad. The CCI procured 22.65 lakh bales of seed kapas under price stabilization operations from October 2012 to February 2013 at a total cost of Rs.5,807.95 crore. The CCI has successfully stabilized prices in Andhra Pradesh and avoided farmer distress with timely payments. Cotton prices then crossed MSP prices in March 2013 in Andhra Pradesh.
Union Minister of Textiles Dr. Kavuru Sambasiva Rao also visits Surat Announces Rs. 150 crore aid for powerloom industry Dr. Kavuru Sambasiva Rao, Union Minister of Textiles, alongwith Smt. Sunaina Tomar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Textile Commissioner and Chairman, The Synthetic Rayon & Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) visited one Textile park in
Minister of Textiles Dr. Kavuru Sambasiva Rao in a meeting in Surat the city developed under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP) alongwith one modern synthetic processing house and one modern garmenting unit. The Minister while appreciating the efforts taken by the NCM-JULY 2013 91
entrepreneurs in surat to modernize their units, also suggested the entrepreneurs to take measures to have a quantum jump in exports. He also suggested for giving more emphasis on continuous training so that they