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Ludhiana: Awaiting ₹250-cr subsidy, bizmen meet textile official
More than 150 textile mill owners from Ludhiana have lodged grievances through the i-TUFS portal launched by the ministry of textiles in December 2025
Owners of textile and knitwear industrial units in the district have said that they are facing a severe financial strain as subsidies worth over ₹250 crore under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) remain stuck due to objections raised over documents related to imported machinery. Several cases have been pending with the ministry of textiles for the past six years, leaving industrialists struggling to recover funds invested through bank loans.
More than 150 textile mill owners from Ludhiana have lodged grievances through the i-TUFS portal launched by the ministry of textiles in December 2025. Across the country, a total of 564 applications have been filed, highlighting the scale of the issue.
CA Raj Mittal, technical consultant of the Knitwear and Textile Association, Ludhiana, said the ATUFS was introduced in February 2016 and remained operational till March 31, 2022. Under the scheme, the government offered subsidies on imported machinery purchased through bank loans. Many Ludhiana-based industries availed of the scheme and applied for reimbursement after importing advanced equipment.
Mittal said that to their surprise, a large number of applications were rejected by the office of the textile commissioner citing technical clauses, “without clearly specifying the deficiencies”. “Several applications have been pending for over six years, causing huge financial losses to MSME units and affecting their working capital,” he added.
To seek redressal, representatives of the association recently met textile commissioner Vrinda Manohar Desai in Mumbai. During the meeting, the problems regarding prolonged delays, rejected claims and procedural hurdles were raised in detail. Mittal said the commissioner acknowledged the concerns of the industry.
Vinod Thapar, chairman of Knitwear Club, said, “The textile commissioner gave a clear and positive assurance that pending ATUFS cases would be resolved at the earliest. She assured all possible steps would be taken to ensure timely release of subsidies to eligible members. She expressed a proactive approach towards supporting the MSME sector.”
Industrialists hope the assurance would translate into swift action, as delayed subsidies have already impacted production, employment and future investment plans in Ludhiana’s textile hub.
