The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) thanked the finance minister for continuing the Optional Excise Duty route applicable on branded apparel in his union budget proposals for 2015-16.
Being a highly labour intensive Industry, with a huge population of migrant workers, the move to make ESIS and EPF schemes optional for workers will bring a great deal of relief to its workforce, the association president, Mr. Rahul Mehta said.
Although the details are still to be known, the possibility of an exclusive Bill Discounting mechanism for MSMEs is a very welcome step, and will remove a major roadblock in the development of the smaller players of this Industry.
“However, this budget being referred to as the “Make in India” budget, we believe there could have been some Industry specific incentives for the Apparel Industry, which is the highest employer after Agriculture in the country, Mr. Mehta said.