Senior officials from the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India met industry leaders in Surat on Saturday to review the progress of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and gather suggestions for expanding its scope.
The meeting, hosted by the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI), was attended by representatives from the Manmade and Technical Textiles Export Promotion Council (MATEXIL) and several textile manufacturers.
Industry stakeholders pressed for a more inclusive framework, requesting that the scheme cover smaller units making investments of ₹50 crore and above, compared to the current threshold of ₹100–300 crore. They also sought the inclusion of new HSN codes and import-substitute textile products to strengthen domestic production chains.
“The existing parameters are discouraging many small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which form the backbone of India’s textile industry, from participating. Lowering the threshold would allow wider adoption,” one industry representative said.
The officials, led by Bhaskar Kalra, Under Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles, assured the stakeholders that feedback would be considered. They also reminded enterprises that the PLI application window closes on September 30, urging them to submit proposals in time.
The textile PLI scheme, currently covering 116 HSN codes, was launched to boost large-scale investments and exports. However, uptake has been lower than expected, with industry leaders attributing this to high investment requirements and compliance burden.
