PLI 2.0 likely to focus on apparel & garments: Textiles Secretary

New Delhi, June 6 (KNN) The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) 2.0 is expected to shift its focus on the apparel & garments segment, said Textiles Secretary Upendra Prasad Singh.

In a recent conversation with CNBC-TV18 regarding the increasing prices of cotton, he added “5-7 lakh bales of summer cotton is expected to come in. This in return will help in softening the cotton prices.”

Further highlighting the point he said there is need to formulate PLI 2.0 for the textile industry with major emphasis on apparel & garments.

The predominantly cotton-based textile industry is facing a long-drawn recession on the cotton front as the cotton price increased from Rs 44,500 per candy in February 2021, when an 11 per cent import duty was levied on cotton, to Rs 90,000 per candy in March 2022.

The steep increase in cotton price and its impact on the prices of yarns and fabrics is severely impacting the potential growth of the cotton textile value chain.

However, the country’s cotton exports increased to USD 9.9 billion in April-February FY22, as compared to USD 6.3 billion in the full financial year 2020-21. In April 2022, exports were up 57.6 per cent to USD 52.5 million from a year ago.  (KNN Bureau)