Production from NTC mills on rise since 2009-10: Government

The government has said that production from mills

under the National Textiles Corporation (NTC) has been on the rise since 2009-10. Cloth production has increased to 120.25 lakh metres in the last financial year from 89.91 lakh metres in 2010-11, Textiles Minister Anand Sharma informed Parliament.

Yarn production has grown in the last three fiscal. “Yarn production was 350 lakh kgs in the last fiscal, 346.03 lakh kgs in 2010-11 and 306 lakh kgs in 2009-10,” Sharma said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. On steps taken by the government to improve production, he said that as per the revival scheme approved by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), NTC has invested Rs 1,169 crores to modernise the mills.

Utilisation of IT, obtaining ISO certification for 16 mills and engagement of women to deal with labour shortages are some steps taken for enhancing production in these mills.NTC was established to manage the affairs of existing sick textiles undertakings, which were taken over through three Acts of Nationalisation.

In an another reply, Minister of State for Textiles Panabaaka Lakshmi said the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has procured 2.09 lakh quintal cotton at an average price of Rs 3,949 per quintal. On whether a specific quantity of cotton needs to be purchased by CCI from Andhra Pradesh, she said, “There have been no such requests from state/farming community to CCI.”

The central agency had bought 2.65 lakh quintal at an average price of Rs 4,075/quintal were purchased from Maharashtra, while 6.6 lakh quintal, at an average price of Rs 4,448 per quintal, was procured in Gujarat. In other states, 1.26 lakh quintal at a rate of Rs 4,185/ quintal were procured in the current marketing year.

CCI procures cotton from the country through market intervention scheme which is implemented to protect farmers from making distress sale in the event of bumper crop when the prices tend to fall below the cost of production.