Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), met Sanjay Malhotra, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), along with senior RBI officials in Mumbai to deliberate on key challenges facing apparel exporters, particularly MSMEs.
During the meeting, Dr. Sakthivel advocated for a dedicated export policy tailored specifically to the MSME segment and proposed the introduction of a Special Interest Package Scheme aimed at enhancing the growth and global competitiveness of small and medium apparel manufacturers.
Highlighting India’s expanding trade footprint, he noted that the country has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 37 nations, creating unprecedented opportunities for the textile and apparel sector. He emphasised that the coming decade represents a strategic window for India to capitalise on its inherent strengths and scale up exports significantly.
In his representation, the AEPC Chairman underscored that a large number of apparel exporters — predominantly MSMEs — continue to encounter operational and regulatory hurdles, particularly in their engagement with banks, export finance mechanisms, and compliance frameworks.
Addressing export credit concerns, Dr. Sakthivel urged the RBI to enhance the Interest Equalisation Scheme from the existing 2.75 per cent to 5 per cent for manufacturing exporters. He also requested the removal of the current ₹50 lakh cap and recommended that eligibility limits under the scheme be increased in a graded manner based on turnover and export performance.
A detailed memorandum outlining these recommendations, along with other policy suggestions, was submitted to the RBI for consideration, with the objective of strengthening India’s apparel export ecosystem and empowering MSME exporters to compete more effectively in global markets.