Roll-out of PM Mitra to help attract FDI in textiles

New Delhi: Expeditious implementation of the ambitious scheme to develop seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM Mitra) parks will help in attracting large investments, including FDI, in the sector besides generating huge employment, said industry experts.

After inaugurating ‘Bharat Tex 2024’, one of the largest-ever global textile events to be organised in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw light on the government’s expansive plans to create seven PM Mitra parks in various States and underlined the emphasis on the creation of opportunities for the entire textile sector. The parks are coming up in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Nearly Rs 70,000 crore investment and 20 lakh employment generation is envisaged through these parks. The valuation of the Indian textiles market is estimated at Rs 12 lakh crore.

The Union Ministry of Textiles is overseeing the execution of these projects. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by the Centre and State governments is being set up for each park, which will oversee the implementation of the project. Mithileshwar Thakur, Secretary General, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), said the PM Mitra parks seek to address the traditional as well as emerging challenges that the textiles industry has been facing for a long time. These parks will bring together the entire textile value chain under one roof deriving inspiration from the PM’s 5F vision -- farm to foreign via fiber, fabric, and fashion focus. PM Mitra parks will create an enabling ecosystem by facilitating the provision of all utilities, reliable power supply, water availability, wastewater disposal system, and an effective single window clearance for all the regulatory approvals for land, building, electricity, CETP, and other common facilities at a single place, Thakur said. “Integration of entire textiles value chain right from spinning, weaving, processing, dyeing, printing and garmenting under these parks will lead to substantial reduction of logistics cost. This park will not only attract investments, including FDI, but also create huge employment opportunities in the sector,” he said. The textiles ministry will provide financial support in the form of the development capital support up to Rs 500 crore per park to the SPV. Chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Rakesh Mehra opined that the PM Mitra scheme has been one of the pioneering initiatives for capacity building and attracting new investments. The scheme mandate rightly captures the industry’s requirements for cluster-based production with value chain presence and hub and spoke models aimed at each PM Mitra park.