Covid stress hits hard textile units in Kanpur, Chennai-Kgndieepuram

摘要

India's textile clusters in Kanpur and Chennai-Kancheepuram have been worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the highest proportion of loans turning delinquent by December 2020, according to a report.The country's textiles industry has been in trouble since the national lockdown imposed in March last year, with outstanding credit to the sector falling 20% year-on-year by December 2020 and loans to export units falling by a sharper 25%, according to a SIDBI-CRIF report on the sector released recently.The textiles and apparel industry provides direct and indirect employment to an estimated 10.5 crore Indians and contributes 2% to GDP.A recent short survey carried out by SIDBI of textile units in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Gujarat revealed that the sector also faces several operational roadblocks at the ground level, including high fuel and raw material prices, challenging GST norms and delayed tax refunds.