682 textile mills closed as on June end, says govt

Arvind Fashions' interest cost for FY20 was Rs 289 crore, while the operating profit for the same fiscal was Rs 231 crore.

As many as 682 textile mills were closed as on June end this year and 232 of them were in Tamil Nadu, the government said today. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani told the Lok Sabha 1,399 textile mills were operational as on June 30.

All of them are in the non-small scale industry. At the end of June, 682 textile mills were closed in the country, she said during the Question Hour. Of them, 232 mills were in Tamil Nadu while 85 were in Maharashtra and 60 in Uttar Pradesh.

As many as 42 such mills are in Haryana. Among the 1,399 operational textile mills, 752 were in Tamil Nadu, followed by Maharashtra (135) and Andhra Pradesh (112).

Under this government, the textiles industry saw the largest amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), she said, adding that the GST (Goods and Services Tax) as well as the labour reforms have been welcomed by the industry.

Asked whether the government has formulated any scheme to set up new textile mills, the minister replied in the affirmative. Under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), launched last year, there are benefits in terms of one time capital subsidy of 15 per cent for the garmenting and technical textiles segments with a cap of Rs 30 crore, Irani said.

Besides, there is 10 per cent capital subsidy for segments like weaving, processing, jute, silk and handloom with a subsidy cap of Rs 20 crore for setting up new textile units or for expansion of existing units with benchmarked technology.

Responding to a query related to closed textile mills in Maharashtra, the minister said the centre would fully support initiatives for the industry taken by the state government.