Political unrest in Bangladesh has created an opportunity for India to increase exports of ready-made garments and create billions of jobs. This has been informed in a letter of All India Professional Congress (AIPC). AIPC president Praveen Chakraborty gave this suggestion in a letter written to Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 12.
According to Indian media The Hindu, Praveen Chakraborty said in the letter that he made this recommendation after discussing with 120 textile and garment manufacturers in Coimbatore. Chakraborty said that former finance minister P Chidambaram, eminent economist Rathin Roy and himself were present in this discussion held on October 2.
In his letter recommending policy changes in India's 2025 budget, Chakraborty wrote that the top five apparel importing countries like America, Germany, Japan, France and Britain buy 70 percent of synthetic fabric and 30 percent of natural fabric.
Praveen Chakraborty writes in the letter, 'But India exports more natural fabrics and less synthetic garments. The main reason for this is the 20 percent duty on synthetic fabrics. This tariff structure is seriously hurting India's exports.' He recommended a significant reduction in import duty on synthetic fabrics.
In the second proposal, the Congress leader talked about special export-related collateral-free credit facilities for textile and apparel manufacturers. He also mentioned that it will be possible to increase exports quickly.
Praveen Chakraborty presented a statistic of 'Niti Aayog'. It is said that for every $1 billion in apparel exports, 125,000 direct and 500,000 indirect jobs are created. This Congress leader said, '70 percent of these jobs are for women. But it is worrying that India's garment exports to the global market have stagnated in the last decade. In contrast, Bangladesh and Vietnam have doubled their share.'
Chakraborty also said, 'Bangladesh is in political turmoil after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government. In this situation India can get a unique opportunity to go ahead in apparel exports.' He said that free trade agreements with the European Union, United Kingdom and the United States can be helpful for India. Because, as a less developed country, Bangladesh gets duty-free benefits in these countries.
Chakraborty said, 'There is a unique opportunity to increase the current $15 billion garment export to $30 billion. It could create 1 crore new jobs, mostly for women.' He claimed, 'This letter has been written in national interest and keeping politics away.'
