Punjab textile industry availed Rs7,600 cr credit in 2020

Vijay C Roy
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 9

Punjab-based textile and apparel industry availed credit of Rs 7,600 crore as of December 2020, a decline of 6.7% year-on-year. This is due to the suspension of manufacturing activities in the aftermath of Covid-induced lockdown in March 2020, according to a report by Centre for Research in International Finance (CRIF) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

Ludhiana contributes 10% to total exports

Ludhiana contributes around 10% to total exports from the country and caters to 30% of the domestic apparel demand. With an installed capacity of 750 lakh spindles, the northern region contributes 15% to the total capacity of the country.

Out of this, Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Amritsar region accounted for Rs 7,560 crore. The number of active loans stood at around 15,000 units as of December 2020.

Punjab ranks sixth in terms of credit portfolio. Maharashtra has the largest share of credit portfolio at Rs 40,400 crore, followed by apparel clusters such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, West Bengal and Delhi. Nationally, the total credit availed by the sector as of December 2020 stood at Rs 1.62 lakh crore, a decline of nearly 20% y-o-y.

Navin Chandani, MD & CEO, CRIF India, said, “Each state has a unique contribution to the apparels and textile sector. The government announced a special package in May 2020 under the AatmaNirbharBharat Abhiyan that is set to benefit small-scale entities. The right policy interventions, abundant availability and fair access to raw materials along with surplus available labour can further boost the development of this crucial sector.”