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Bengal suitable to lead growth wave of textile sector: Smriti Irani

Kolkata: With the Union Textile ministry identifying 'technical textile' as the sunrise sector, Union Textiles minister Smriti Irani said on Thursday that Bengal, which contributes to more than 5 percent of the national textile segment, can play a major role in the development of this sector.
"The Centre has an apparel package for the first time in the history of the country of up to Rs 6,000 crore, which is the largest ever sanction in the textile industry in this country. An outlay of Rs 690 crore has helped in setting up of 21 readymade garment manufacturing (RGM) units in the seven North-Eastern states at the end of last year and all of them have become fully functional," Irani said at a special session on Recent Development in the Textile Industry," organised by Merchants' Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
She referred to the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for the textile and garment sector, introduced in December 2015, which had approved a total allocation of Rs 17,822 crore till 2022, to clear pending claims as well as rolling out the new scheme. She maintained that the textile sector is on the growth track, with a 5 percent growth and having a high potential in India.
Focusing on the jute industry in Bengal and the importance of diversification of jute products, she felt that the industry has failed to perform in the way it should have, as the output of raw materials was not fine enough for diversification.
She said that certified jute seeds would be distributed to farmers through every Krishi Vignan Centre to enhance productivity and increasing their income, which in turn would bring in technological upgradation in jute farming.
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