Trade and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday that the government is considering rolling out the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme for the garment sector to boost domestic manufacturing and exports. .

He said discussions on the matter are ongoing between the Ministry of Textiles, Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Niti Aayog.

“We are keen to support the garment manufacturing sector and we are considering offering another PLI program. Dialogue is ongoing between Textiles, DPIIT and Niti Aayog and in consultation with industry stakeholders we will soon design a program, which we will present to the Cabinet for its approval,” Goyal told reporters here.

The government announced the PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore for more than a dozen sectors including synthetic fibers, technical textiles, white goods, medical devices, automobiles and automotive components .

He also said textile exports were growing at a healthy pace and could reach $100 billion (Rs 8 lakh crore) in the next five years from around $44 billion currently.

The textile industry, he said, is also planning to double domestic production to Rs 20 lakh crore in the next five years.

“This will help create job opportunities, attract investment, promote startups and MSMEs,” the minister added.

Asked about a possible plan to extend the customs duty exemption on cotton imports beyond September 30, Goyal, who also has a textiles portfolio, said cotton textile prices are falling and “I I don’t think it’s necessary to extend it beyond September, but if necessary we can extend it for another month.”

Regarding the Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) parks scheme, he said that several states including Tamil Nadu have made allocations to establish Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel parks and the ministry is evaluating these applications.

The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of 7 mega integrated textile and garment region parks with a total expenditure of Rs 4,445 crore for five years to position India strongly on the global textile map.

Speaking about free trade agreements, Goyal said negotiations are progressing rapidly with Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Israel.

Regions like the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and the Eurasian Economic Union also want a speedy conclusion of trade pact negotiations with India.

“This round of FTAs ​​will give a competitive edge to our exporters by boosting exports and job creation and attracting trillions of millions of investments across India,” the Minister said.

Goyal also said that the ministries of textiles and pharmacy will endeavor to provide affordable sanitary napkins under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana.

Regarding the National Textile Corporation, he said that “we should allow the private sector that we examine whether NTC can operate profitably and professionally. So far, this has not been the case.”

The minister said that global brands like Zara, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger, H&M and Puma are customers of Tiruppur’s garment manufacturers.