Reiterating the need for urgent modernisation of power loom sector to ensure holistic growth of the textile industry, Union Minister of State (Independent charge) for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar said that 24 lakh power looms in the country would be upgraded in next eight years.
“Since the BJP-led Union Government has come to power, 60,000 looms have been upgraded in 16 months,” he said at a function held to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led Government, here on Wednesday.
The Minister said that the government had started reviewing the existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 15 nations so as to overcome the bottlenecks in the consumption of yarn which had arisen due to the classification of yarn in the ‘sensitive list’.
He hinted that the government was seriously considering the demand of Tirupur exporters for setting up a Knitwear Board.
On the other initiatives, he said that subsidy to the tune of Rs. 50.94 crore had been sanctioned to Tirupur region under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme during the last two years.
Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said of the 37 Mega Food Parks sanctioned by the Union Government, six had started functioning. “Another four Food Parks, which are aimed at promoting food processing, will be commissioned shortly in the country.”
According to her, 38 new cold storage chains will be set up in the next two years. Coir Board chairman C. P. Radhakrishnan and senior BJP leaders spoke.
