The Centre has selected sites in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to set up new textile parks, a year and a half after the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme was announced.
Listing the seven selected States in a tweet on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the parks would “provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for the textiles sector, attract investment of crores and create lakhs of jobs”. The scheme was announced in October 2021, and the parks will be set up by 2026-27. The total outlay for the project is ₹4,445 crore, though the intial allocation in the 2023-24 Budget is only ₹200 crore.
“PM MITRA mega textile parks will boost the textiles sector in line with 5F (Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign) vision,” Mr. Modi tweeted, adding that the scheme would be a great example of the government’s policy of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for the World’.
Integrated value chain
The Centre envisages an investment of nearly ₹70,000 crore into these parks, with employment generation for about 20 lakh people, Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters. The parks will function as centres of opportunity to create an integrated textiles value chain, right from spinning, weaving, processing, dyeing and printing to garment manufacturing, all at a single location.
“The textile industry has been unorganised in the country. This increased wastage and logistical costs impacting the competitiveness of country’s textile sector. This cluster-based approach, a vision of the Prime Minister, will solve several problems of the sector,” Mr. Goyal said. He added that environmental clearances would also be eased under the scheme. Textiles Secretary Rachna Shah said that the Ministry had selected the locations for the parks in a transparent manner, having considered 18 proposals from 13 States.
Centre-State collaboration
Mr. Goyal hoped that the proposed world-class industrial infrastructure would attract cutting edge technology and boost foreign direct investment and local investment in the sector. The Textiles Ministry will oversee the execution of projects in the PM MITRA parks, according to an official statement.
“An SPV [Special Purpose Vehicle] owned by Centre and State Government will be set up for each park which will oversee the implementation of the project. The Ministry of Textiles will provide financial support in the form of Development Capital Support upto ₹500 crore per park to the Park SPV,” the Ministry said. A Competitive Incentive Support (CIS) upto ₹300 crore per park to the units in PM MITRA Park shall also be provided to incentivise speedy implementation. Convergence with other Government of India schemes shall also be facilitated in order to ensure additional incentives to the Master Developer and investor units,” added the statement.
Mr. Goyal said that State governments have offered to provide at least 1,000 acres of land for free for the parks and will also facilitate provision of all utilities such as power and water. He said that ₹200 crore has been allotted as an initial investment. “Different elements to make all the approvals easier will be considered. We will encourage use of renewable energy in a big way in these parks,” Mr. Goyal said, adding that the parks would offer excellent infrastructure, plug-and-play facilities as well as training and research facilities for the industry.
“PM MITRA Parks represent a unique model where the Centre and State Governments will work together to increase investment, promote innovation, create job opportunities and ultimately make India a global hub for textile manufacturing and exports,” the Ministry added.