"During the last three years (as on June 30, 2010), there were 14,841 workers on the roll of 55 number of cotton/ man-made fibre textile mills (non-SSI) which closed down," Minister of State in Textiles Ministry Panabaaka Lakshmi said in a written to Rajya Sabha.
Workers rendered jobless in wake of closure of mills are given interim relief under Textile Workers Rehabilitation Fund Scheme (TWRFS). However, the minister said none of these 55 units were covered under the scheme. Replying to another query, the minister said India exported garments worth USD 10.04 billion in 2009-10 while it was USD 10.38 billion in the previous year.
Published 25 August 2010, 13:13 IST