Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday announced that 'PM MITRA mega textile parks' will be set up in Gujarat and six other states, namely, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. He asserted that they will attract massive investments and create lakhs of jobs. "The PM MITRA mega textile parks will provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for the textiles sector, attract investment of crores and create lakhs of jobs. It will be a great example of 'Make in India' and 'Make For the World'," Modi tweeted, adding "PM MITRA mega textile parks will boost the textiles sector in line with 5F (Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign) vision". In a Facebook post, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal, said these mega textile parks will be set up with an outlay of Rs 4,445 crore and this would be the biggest ever initiative for infrastructure in this sector. These parks will create 20 lakh direct/indirect jobs and attract an estimated Rs 70,000 crore of domestic and foreign investment, he added. Gujarat's mega textile park will come up on 1,142 hectares of government land at Vansi Borsi village of Navsari district. According to sources, the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) had proposed to the state and Central governments to set up the textile park in the Vansi Borsi village. Thanking PM Modi for the announcement, SGCCI president Himanshu Bodawala stated, "Once operational, the park will give a boost to the textile industry. This will also help Surat to create a new image in the world market. Lakhs of people will get employment through this park and it will even increase the annual turnover of textile industry exports.” The park will have processing houses (dyeing and printing mills), spinning units, weaving units, garmenting units, warehouses and packing houses, specialised and value addition work and effluent treatment plants, among others, said Ashish Gujarat, president of Pandesara weavers' association and a member of the Federation of Gujarat Weavers' Association. "It will also benefit the industry by reducing logistic costs as all the activities are done in one place," he added. Elaborating on the mega textile parks project, Minister Goyal said they will be shining examples of sustainability, with zero liquid discharge, common effluent treatment, use of emission-free renewable energy and adoption of global best practices. Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, Goyal also described the announcement by the Prime Minister as "India's big leap towards becoming a global textiles hub". He said this cluster-based approach will enhance the quality and competitiveness of products, boost exports and strengthen India's position in global supply chains. "It is an unmissable opportunity for investors, manufacturers, exporters and international buyers," he said. The minister congratulated the people of the seven states who will "further fuel the Aatmanirbhar Bharat journey and make India a textiles hub". In his Facebook post, Goyal said India's rich tradition of textiles, which dates back to the ancient era, is poised for a quantum leap that will make India a global investment, manufacturing and export hub. He said inspired by the Prime Minister's 5F vision, PM MITRA park is a major step forward to achieve the Aatmanirbhar Bharat and ‘Vocal for Local' initiatives. "It will revolutionise the sector and create global champions with the help of world-class facilities, state-of-the-art infrastructure and an integrated value chain at each location. A Master Developer (MD) will be selected who will be responsible for designing, planning, building, financing, operating and maintaining the PM MITRA Park," he said. Goyal further said this is a big jump for the industry as the value chain is currently scattered across the country, which adds costs and delays in each link of the chain. "Indian industry will become globally competitive as the parks will help scale up operations, cut costs, improve efficiency and supply high-quality textiles and apparels," he said. PM MITRA parks were selected through a transparent process, which was validated by the innovative PM GatiShakti National Infrastructure Master Plan, the minister said. It is another example of collaborative federalism as both the Centre and the states concerned will be partners in the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) that will set up and manage these parks, he added. PM MITRA dovetails with the government's initiatives to sign free trade agreements, which open up developed markets for Indian textiles, apparels and several other sectors. India has already signed trade deals with the UAE and Australia, and is negotiating with Canada, the UK and the European Union.
