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Textile Ministry To Impart Skill Training Under Samarth Scheme

  • 14 Aug 2019

  • On 14th August, 2019, Ministry of Textiles in a meeting, decided to impart skill training to 4 lakh people in 18 states under the Samarth - Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS).
  • However, the ministry signed MoU with only 16 states as Jammu & Kashmir and Odisha, did not participate in the meeting. The 16 states are- Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Karnataka,Manipur, Haryana, Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

Key Points

  • The programme covers the entire value chain of the textiles sector such as apparel and garments, knitwear, metal handicraft, handloom, textiles, handicraft and carpet except spinning and weaving.
  • The training programme involves advanced technology oriented features like Aadhaar Based Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), CCTV recording, dedicated Call Centre, Mobile App based Management Information System and on-line monitoring.
  • After the training, employment will be provided to all these beneficiaries in various textiles related activities.
  • Those who are not employed by the industry may get additional benefits provided by financial services under Mudra scheme(It is to be noted that about three-fourths of workers in the textiles sector are women and 70 percent of the beneficiaries of the Mudra loan are women).
  • North Eastern States must be given focus on silk and jute sector. 

Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)

  • Also known as Samarth, the scheme was started in 2017, in order to meet the skill gap in the textile industry and to ensure steady supply of skilled manpower (total 10.00 lakh persons - 9 lakhs in organised& 1 lakh in traditional sector) for the entire value chain of textile except spinning andweaving in the organized sector, for a period of three years from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

 Aim

  • To skill the youth for gainful and sustainable employment in the textile sector.

 Objectives

  • To provide demand driven, placement oriented National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) compliant skilling programmes to incentivize and supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organized textile and related sectors, covering the entire value chain of textile, excluding Spinning and Weaving.
  • To promote skilling and skill upgradation in the traditional sectors of handlooms, handicrafts, sericulture and jute.
  • To enable provision of sustainable livelihood either by wage or self-employment to all sections of the society across the country.

Impact of the Decision

In India, there is huge potential of employment generation in the textiles sector. This initiative will help the ministry to extend its support to the state agency and make them equal partners for building the spirit of national development to boost the textiles sector as well as the workforce involved in it.

Challenges Faced by the Textile Industry

  • Large Amount of Unskilled Labour: Though Industry has cheap manpower but mostly they are unskilled this makes them less productive comparative to other south Asian countries.
  • Poor Infrastructure: Outdated technological and low degree of modernization in various steps of value chain affects badly the quality, cost and distribution which results in failures to meet global standards in the highly competitive export market. Though India is a hub of IT services, they are not effectively implemented in textile sector to improve the productivity.
  • High Power Tariff:Power cost is the most significant cost in the whole supply chain. High power cost and erratic supply hampers the production in India.
  • Low Capital Investment: Lack of scale and the fragmented nature of industry have discouraged mega investments in the Indian textile industry. Unattractiveness of the industry has resulted in low FDI inflows, despite 100% FDI being allowed under the automatic route. These drawbacks created a hurdle to make industry more competitive on the global basis.
  • Strict Tax Norms: The strict and changing government policies at the state and central government levels pose a major challenge to the textile industry. The tax structure GST (Goods and Service Tax) makes the garments expensive.
  • Strict Competition from Neighbouring Countries:There is fierce competition from China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the low price garment market. Besides, in the global market tariff and non-tariff barrierscoupled with quota is posing major challenge to the Indian textileIndustry.
  • Social Issues: Social issues like child labor, safety of women and personal safety norms are also some of the challenges for the textile industry in India.

Way Forward

  • Despite availability of raw material, textile industry could not be promoted in many parts of the country because of its competitive structure with decentralized small scale industries.
  • The Indian textile industry requires support from both the Central and State governments to become competitive in the global market. The Skill India and Make-in India program of Central government is helping the industry in getting required skilled manpower and good market for textile products.