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Journalism of Courage
The Manchester of India, Ludhiana, a town with more ‘Mercs’ than many metros, wears a cheery look. The reason: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in his budget speech promised the town’s textiles industry freedom from the excise inspector.
Many small handloom and powerloom owners, who were anxious about dealing with excise inspectors, are relieved. In fact, many weavers had significantly curtailed their operations leading to low offtake of yarn from spinning mills. The levelling of excise rates across the industry and provision for CENVAT credit has led to players feeling confident of exploiting the overseas opportunities after phase out of quotas — expected January next.
‘‘We have announced a Rs 1,000-crore expansion after the budget. We feel the industry will benefit from this move,’’ said a senior executive of the Vardhman Group, which exports 20-25 per cent of its output to China.
A garment manufacturer, however, said that China has a big advantage over competitors with its strong research on fashion and fabrics. He suggests that a research centre be set up at Ludhiana in association with an institute like NIFT, with Rs 50 crore state government assistance, to help make manufacturers here globally competitive.
But points out an entrepreneur: ‘‘These buyers don’t give an inch, they’ll ask for reduction in price if there is a reduction in costs, including levies.’’
