New Delhi - Knitwear exporters in India have welcomed a government proposal for the construction of seven 'Mega' textile parks over the next three years.
The unveiling of a Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) scheme was made by the country's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in this week's 2021-22 budget speech.
It is hoped that the scheme will enable the textile industry to become globally competitive, attract large investments, boost employment and increase exports. Sitharaman said that the parks would offer "world class infrastructure with plug and play facilities to enable create global champions in exports."
Welcoming the announcement, Raja Shanmugham, a knitwear manufacturer and exporter from Tirupur said that smaller neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh had overtaken India because of a lack of volume production from from the country's exporters. "Textile parks would give us a chance to integrate our operations,” Shanmugham said. "Most of our players are micro and small-scale companies. Using these facilities will help us increase our scale and grow.”
Commenting on the scheme, Union Textiles and Women and Child Development Minister, Smriti ZubinIrani said: “(MITRA) will be a game changer for the Indian Textiles Industry. Along with the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, MITRA will lead to increased investments and enhanced employment opportunities. An emphasis on state-of-the-art infrastructure through MITRA will give our domestic manufacturers a level-playing field in the international textiles market & pave the way for India to become a global champion of textiles exports across all segments”.
According to the Economic Times, the plan could double the value of India's textile industry to US$300 billion by 2025-26 with the parks aiming to have uninterrupted water and power supply, common utilities and research and development labs.
India is already in the process of constructing around 60 textile parks under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP), of which 22 have been completed. However, their slow progress due to delays in obtaining land and other statutory clearances from state governments and delayed funding have have prompted the government to turn to the MITRA parks.
With the locations for the parks not yet confirmed, it is also hoped that the parks will follow environmental, social and governance goals to attract international buyers and investors. The scheme should also help stem the flow of Indian manufacturers moving out of India altogether as they look for to other counties offering more competitive opportunities. Union textile secretary Ravi Capoor told India Today: "As we are competing with other destinations, such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Turkey, countries in eastern Europe, Ethiopia, Mexico and other Latin American countries, the Indian textile industry, in coordination with the central and state governments, is taking several steps, including labour reforms, to remain competitive."
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