India has used its tax regime, particularly Goods and Services Tax (GST) and protectionist tariff, Customs Duty and Anti-Dumping Duty, to significantly damage its textile and apparel sector – the second largest job provider, which also significantly contributes to exports.
Even the elimination of 11 per cent tariff on import of cotton, a raw material for a segment of the sector (the other uses man-made fibres or MMFs), is part of a larger design that selectively benefits some players at the cost of others (as it will be clear soon). Such policies are particularly disconcerting because the Economic Survey of 2020-21 said the sector contributed 2 per cent to the GDP and 11 per cent of total manufacturing GVA in FY20 and provided “total direct and indirect employment of about 10.5 crore (105 million) people” – “the second-largest employment generator next only to agriculture”. It also said that “most importantly, a major part of this workforce are women playing a vital role in women empowerment and in the overall social development of the country”.
News Courtesy : The Federal.