Seven Foreign Companies Among 61 Qualify Under PLI Scheme For Textiles With Total Investment Of Rs 19,077 Crore

Signalling growing international interest in India’s government approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI) programme, seven foreign groups, including a Sri Lankan firm, with proposed total investment of Rs 3,559 crore have received approval for their applications under the PLI Scheme for Textiles aimed at enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and enhancing exports with an approved financial outlay of Rs 10,683 crore over a five-year period.

These foreign applications comprise a total of 61 applicants cleared by the selection committee chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Textiles UP Singh out of a total of 67 applications to avail the PLI scheme for textiles products covering MMF apparel, MMF fabrics and technical textiles.

The global firms presence is important as through this scheme, the government aims to boost the manufacturing of high-value MMF fabrics, garments and technical textiles and promote investments from global players in the sector. The proposed total investment expected from all applicants is Rs 19,077 crore and the projected turnover is Rs 184,917 crore with a proposed employment of 240,134.

The notification for the scheme was issued in September 2021, operational guidelines in December 2021 which led to flow of online applications received from 1 January to 28 February, 2022. The scheme is incentivising production of 14 categories of MMF fabrics, 10 categories of technical textiles and MMF apparel.

The MMF fabrics for which production is being incentivised include woven fabrics containing nylon, polyester and other manmade fibres. Technical textiles under the scheme include defence textiles such as bulletproof vests, fighter aircraft and submarine clothing and tents, mobile textiles such as safety airbags and tyre cords and protective textiles such as personal protective equipment and fire-retardant fabrics and clothing.

Among the foreign applicants, US based Autolive India Private has proposed a total investment of Rs 241 crore with a projected turnover of Rs 5,275 crore of notified products, Israeli firm Avgol India Private has a proposed total investment of Rs 1,370 crore and projected turnover of Rs 5,792 crore in notified products and Korean company Evertop Textile and Apparel Complex Private has lined up a total investment of Rs 1,051 crore and Rs 1,991 crore projected turnover in notified products.

The other foreign investors are American company Kimberly Clark India Private with a total investment of Rs 308 crore and projected turnover of Rs 16,882 crore of notified products, German firm Rane TRW Steering Systems Private Limited has proposed a total investment of Rs 247 crore and projected turnover of Rs 2,125 crore in notified products, Sri Lankan firm Teejay India Private has proposed a total investment of Rs 208 crore with projected turnover of Rs 2,286 crore. From Japan, Toray International India Private has lined up a total investment of Rs 135 crore and has a projected turnover of Rs 1,706 crore.

The top Indian companies who have qualified are Goa Glass Fibre with proposed investment of Rs 1,654 crore, Himatsingka Seide with Rs 523 crore, Shahi Exports Private with investment of Rs 436 crore, Trident with investment of Rs 1,609 crore, Arvind with investment of Rs 170 crore. The

PLI textile scheme is times well with India’s ambition to increase textile exports from the current $40 billion to $100 billion in the next five years, according to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

Under the plan, any person including firm/company/LLP/trust willing to invest minimum of Rs 300 crore or Rs 100 crore in plant, machinery, equipment and civil works are eligible to apply for the scheme. The gestation period runs from FY 2022-23 to FY 2023-24 with notified eligible products comprising 50 HS lines of MMF apparel, 42 HS lines of MMF fabrics and 10 segments/products of technical textiles.

Incentive will be provided to the companies on achieving the threshold investment and threshold turnover and incremental turnover in subsequent years.

Industry body CII and global management consulting firm Kearney have suggested that the government tweak the PLI scheme for technical textiles and man-made fibres and expand it to fabric and garments made of natural products, saying the selected companies may struggle to reach the threshold investments set in the scheme.

The report, titled ‘Creating a competitive advantage for India in the global textile and apparel industry’, also observes that the government's aim of $100 billion of exports is a "very steep goal" and that India could emulate the best-in-class exports growth seen over the past 10 years (9-10 per cent by Vietnam in 2011-2015) and target a realistic goal of $65 billion in five years.

Also Read: How The Textile Sector PLI Aims To Solve A ‘Ready-Made Problem’