Textile businesses are requesting the implementation of a new Technology Upgradation Fund scheme as well as the resolution of open cases. The TUF scheme’s validity expired in March, and no replacement plan has yet been revealed.
Industry is also requesting the implementation of a new TUF system with retroactive effect to cover all investments. 650 odd cases from Gujarat, worth Rs 160 crore, are pending under the revised TUF scheme, according to the data that is currently accessible. The central government is requested by the GCCI textile committee to make sure that investments made after March 2022 also receive TUF benefits.
Rahul Shah, co-chairman of the GCCI textile committee, said, “TUF ended on March 31, 2022, and no new scheme has been announced after that. The central government is working on a new scheme. We have held meetings with textile ministry officials and they said there will be no blackout period and investments that came after March 2022 will also get TUF benefits, however, no notification regarding this has been issued so far. Industry players are awaiting the announcement of a new scheme, which may be on the lines of the production-linked incentives scheme.”
He continued by saying that although the government had instructed the textile ministry to release any outstanding TUF benefits, there had been delays in cases where the paperwork was lacking.
At a recent special camp hosted by the textile commissioner’s office in Surat, 1,500 cases totalling Rs 210 crore were resolved. Since 1999, the TUF plan has been in use by the ministry of textiles to support technological advancements. The revised TUF plan was introduced in January 2016 and is intended to encourage the adoption of novel technologies by providing qualified benchmarked machinery with a one-time capital investment subsidy for a seven-year period, from 2015–16 to 2021–22.
