The Tiruppur Exporters’ Association proposed changes to the Tamil Nadu Textile Policy 2019 that included the establishment of a knitwear research institute in Tiruppur and a cargo terminal with international connection at the Coimbatore airport.
K.M. Subramanian, the association president, urged the state government to address issues like housing for labour, raising the overtime cap for the apparel sector, upskilling current employees, transportation subsidies to transport workers to factories, bank Basel norms, and NPA classification in a meeting with the state textiles commissioner.
The value of exports of knitwear and wovens from Tamil Nadu stood at Rs 38,000 crore in 2021–2022 and is expected to reach Rs 50,000 crore in the next two to three years. Ready-made clothing 21% of the total exports of goods from the state were (Knitwear & Woven Garments).
Since the garment industry relies heavily on labour, a severe lack of skilled workers poses the single biggest challenge to its expansion, particularly in labor-intensive clusters like Tiruppur. One of the obstacles to labourers’ permanent transfer from their home villages to industrial clusters would be removed if housing and dormitories for workers were built in clusters like Tiruppur.
The Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation has received a project proposal for an estimated Rs 20.57 crore that would upskill 50,000 current employees in a year.
