The government has earmarked Rs 7.5 billion in the budget 2013-14 against the demand of Rs 30 billion for the implementation of textile policy. The Ministry of Textile Industry had demanded the money for taking up various initiatives under the textile policy (2009-14). In the outgoing fiscal year (2012-13), the same amount - Rs 7.5 billion - was earmarked in the budget against the demand of Rs 30 billion.
However, because of financial crisis, the Ministry has so far received just Rs 3 billion. The Ministry had also demanded Rs 35 billion in the budget 2011-12, but the government released Rs 7.5 billion because of which initiatives announced in the textile policy could not be implemented.
Officials told this correspondent that the amount would be spent on implementation of textile policy, including Textile Investment Support fund, drawback of local taxes, refund of past Research and Development (R&D) claims and magnetisation of Purified Terephthalic Acid. The government had announced Rs 42 billion for textile export promotion under the textile policy in the budget 2010-11 of which 67 percent was to be spent on textile and clothing industry for their consolidation and value-addition of the sector. However, the Ministry got just Rs 7.75 billion in 2010-11. Officials believed that under these circumstances, the textile policy was unlikely to yield the desired results.