TN govt assures wages & production-based incentives to weavers

Chennai, May 2 (KNN) R Gandhi, Handloom and Textiles Minister of Tamil Nadu, told the New Indian Express that the state government is working to provide guaranteed wages and production-based incentives to weavers and that discussions are in their early stages.

He acknowledged the fact that current wages are not sufficient despite an increase of 10 per cent in the last two years.

The Minister told the newspaper that the state government is taking steps to improve the livelihood and revenue of weavers.  

Explaining what the department has done to revive Co-optex, he said, “Our government recovered Co-optex from mounting losses and made it profitable. It has jumped from a loss of Rs 7.61 crore in 2019-20 to a profit of Rs 9.4 crore in 2021-22.”

“They have turned profitable and its turnover has increased to Rs 30 crore in 2022-23 compared to the previous financial year. We have set a target turnover of Rs 400 crore in the next two years,” he added.

Further in the interview he addressed the demand of knitwear manufacturers and spinning mills to stabilise cotton prices.

He replied, “We have waived the 1 per cent cess on cotton and made the union government reduce import duty on cotton through repeated requests. This has significantly brought their prices down. Cotton Corporation of India has set up godowns in Tamil Nadu which help the mills get raw materials cheaper and on time.”

“This has stabilised cotton prices to some extent when they peaked last year. We are also exploring the feasibility to establish a joint venture with private players to establish a CCI-like body,” he said.  (KNN Bureau)