Budget gives hope to textile sector of South Gujarat

Surat: India's largest hub for man-made fabrics (MMF), Surat, with a production capacity of 6 crore metres a day, is expected strengthen the city's position as the country's textile capital and drive economic growth across South Gujarat.The Budget also underlined the importance of the City Economic Region (CER) and Surat Economic Region (SER). The SER, covering Surat, Bharuch, Navsari, Tapi, Dang and Valsad districts, is one of the major CERs. The SER, a high-growth zone, accounts for nearly 25% of Gujarat's GDP despite occupying only 10.8% of the state's area, anchored by Surat.Under NITI Aayog's G-HUB initiative, the region is being developed into a globally competitive, diversified economic hub with a projected size of $1.3 to $1.5 trillion by 2047, focusing on high-value manufacturing, tourism and services."Surat is the largest textile cluster in India, but it does not have a centre of excellence. This Budget announced a centre of excellence at all major textile clusters. The FM announced cluster-specific technology upgradation support in her speech, and it will benefit our region," said Nikhil Madrasi, president, Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI)."The FM announced the establishment of a Textile University in an industrial area, and we hope it will come to the city. In addition, for micro and small enterprises, the limit under the CGTMSE scheme increased to Rs 10 crore per unit, which earlier was Rs 5 crore," said Ashok Jirawala, vice-president, SGCCI.