It is necessary for the all-round development of any state to ensure that the economic and social benefits of development should reach all the sections of society. Policies and schemes of the State Government should be able to improve the standard of living of people across all sections to enable them to lead a dignified life. The Handloom, Power-loom, Silk,Textile and Garmenting Policy 2017 (now onwards referred to as Textile and Garmenting Policy) of the State has been prepared based on this principle.
Recent years have seen countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia etc. emerge as major manufacturing centers of garmenting. Very cheap labour and some international trade advantages are the main reasons for their growth. The UP Government is keen to attract textile manufacturers in this scenario.
Textile industry has a vital importance in the economy of Uttar Pradesh. After agriculture, the textile sector and its ancillary manufacturing units, provide high employment opportunities. Textile industry is a labour intensive industry and has vast potential for the development of the State. There is a great need for employment generation in the State. Further, Uttar Pradesh, being the most populous state of India, offers a big market for textile products. To meet this demand, plenty of opportunities are available to set up textile industry in the State. It is an acknowledged fact that Uttar Pradesh provides an extremely high percentage of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers to textile units across the country and many of these are women and persons from weaker sections of society. Thousands of residents of this State travel to far off places in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to contribute in Textile production. The State Government is keen to bring employment at the doorsteps of such migrants and provide them wholesome opportunity here itself. The focus of this policy is on expanding the job opportunities in this sector and also to add more value in the production base of the nation.
There was a time when the State was famous for its traditional industries like textiles, including handlooms and power-looms, in the nation and also abroad. However, today the textile industry of Uttar Pradesh is struggling for its identity. In order to rejuvenate the textile industry of the State there is a dire need of technical up-gradation and fresh investment.
Besides being the most populous and important State of India, Uttar Pradesh also offers the largest consumer market in the country. Integrated development of such a large state is vital for the development of the nation. To meet its demand, Uttar Pradesh procures about two-third of raw material and related textile products from other states. The State Government has been continuously trying to rejuvenate its traditional handloom and textile industry and this U.P Textile and Garmenting Policy 2017 has been prepared to achieve complete success in this endeavour,. This policy covers all sub branches of textile industry such as sericulture (including chaaki and koya production), reeling, handloom, spinning, weaving, knitting, texturising, dyeing, processing, garmenting (i.e. garment manufacturing, embroidery, embroidered fabrics, made-ups, home textiles, fashion accessories, leather garments and accessories), and all types of technical textiles and jute products.Provisions have been made in this policy to give special incentives to Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand and Madhyanchal after considering the suggestions (inputs) received from various industries in textile sector and industrial associations. This policy would foster new investment in the textile industry of the state and generate lakhs of direct and indirect employment opportunities. To make textile, handloom and sericulture industry successful and meaningful, emphasis has been laid on rationalisation of labour laws.
Various provisions have been made in the Industrial Investment and Employment Generation Policy- 2017 of Government of Uttar Pradesh towards ensuring Ease of Doing Business (EDB) in U.P. All those provisions will, mutas mutandis, also be a part of this Textile and Garmenting Policy.
With the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India, the location of industry will be decided upon by the preferences of entrepreneurs. Comparative EDB and incentives vis-à-vis other states will be crucial factors influencing their choice. With this policy, UP aims to become a frontrunner state in attracting investors.
Uttar Pradesh has over 2,50,000 handloom weavers operating about 1,10,000 handlooms with natural clusters developed over hundreds of years. Varanasi and Mubarakpur are world renowned for silk sarees of the highest quality. Hand embroidery of delicate quality is the strength of several traditional clusters such as Farrukhabad, Bareilly and Lucknow. Socially, stitching is considered a very respectable vocation for both men and women in rural as well as urban areas. Women are encouraged in most homes to learn stitching and embroidery etc. Thousands of young people have been trained in the state in the past decade in Government sponsored programs of skill development. These skilled workers are in demand all across in textile industries.
There is a thriving power-loom industry in many parts of UP. Shining examples are Bijnore, Hapur and Amroha in the west, Sitapur in central UP and Gorakhpur in Eastern UP. Bundelkhand too is rich in the tradition. These areas have vast pools of skilled manpower required for the textile industry. UP is one of the largest producers of quality leather and is steadily moving up in terms of value addition in leather garments, made ups and accessories. Kanpur, Unnao and Agra are major leather industry hubs. Kanpur was famous as the Manchestor of the East for very long time. Backward and forward linkages required by big textile industries still exist in this region. These regions are natural clusters conducive to development of garmenting and are already popular among manufacturers for job work.
UP today has the longest network of expressways in India. It is easily possible to drive 500 km from Delhi to Lucknow in just 6 hours. Connectivity between Lucknow and Gorakhpur is excellent and the journey is comfortably over in 3.5 hours. Bundelkhand is reachable from Lucknow and Agra by very good roads. With the proposed Poorvanchal expressway, journey time from New Delhi to Varanasi may just be 10 to 11 hours. Air connectivity is top class at Lucknow and Varanasi. Allahabad and Gorakhpur too are on the air map. UP also has the unique advantage of being served by both the Eastern and Western dedicated freight corridors.
The climate of industrial relations in UP has been cordial historically with minimal disruptions. The State Government is striving to make very positive labour reforms. Minimum wages are fixed very reasonably.
The Textile & garmenting policy 2017 of Uttar Pradesh, while taking note of the strengths of UP, recognizes that garmenting is the sector where maximum jobs are created. Hence there is greater emphasis on this component of the industry. Other sectors of the industry however, have also been incentivised liberally to achieve synergies.
The State Government is trying to reduce power tariff for industries by innovative methods. Benefits of this will be passed on to industrial units in an appropriate manner.
The term 'Textile Unit' is used broadly in this policy to denote any manufacturing unit producing anything described in paragraph 1.3.