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The textiles and apparel sector has the potential to be a global champion. While the government has come out with sporadic policy measures to promote the sector, Budget 2021-22 has outlined some major direct and indirect sops that are expected to create an enabling ecosystem that could help the sector scale-up significantly.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) scheme will be launched to create world class infrastructure with plug-and-play facilities. Seven Mega Textile Parks will be established in three years. This is in addition to the PLI scheme announced 2-3 months ago.
The objective is to enable the textile industry to become globally competitive, attract large investments and boost employment generation, she said.
The announcement has industry participants beaming.
Hari Thiagarajan, Executive Director, Thiagarajar Mills said the government has moved in the right direction, first with the ₹10,683 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for manmade fibre (MMF) as about 70 per cent of world’s consumption was in MMF category.
Drawing in investments
“This mega park scheme, in tandem, will bring in new investments and jobs. Tamil Nadu could easily house two such parks given the size of the industry in the State,” he added.
The industry players said the three-year time frame is a welcome move in capitalising the opportunities emerging from global brands’ China-plus-one strategy.
“The PLI scheme for MMF garments and technical textiles, along with new Mega Investment Textile Parks scheme will bring in huge investments in the sector,” said A Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).
The proposed mega textile parks are to be developed in partnership between the Central and State governments along with participation from the private sector.
Benefit to SMEs
“With the concept of these mega parks with a plug and play model, Indian textile and apparel sector--especially the SMEs can work on scale and build competitiveness in manufacturing. Further, these parks can be aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals to attract international buyers as well as investors,” said Prabhu Dhamodharan, Convenor, Coimbatore-based Indian Texpreneurs Federation.
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