The government is expecting Rs 30,000 crore investment in 74 textile parks and is planning to announce a new policy by April.
“This is a good time for textile,” Minister of State for Textile Santosh Gangwar told reporters at the Make in India Week on Thursday. “We are planning to launch the new textile policy by April. We are focusing on manufacturing of value-added products and export-oriented goods that will benefit the economy.”
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“Our government has given approval to 24 Textile Parks in the past one year, the rest were cleared by the previous government. So in total, we are setting up 74 textile parks, which will attract an investment of Rs 30,000 crore,” he said.
“We have decided not to sell the National Textile Corporation lands spread across the country. We are looking at starting some other non-polluting industry on them,” he added.
Stating that India is the highest producer of cotton in the world, the minister said during the current cotton season, farmers have got prices, which are more than the Minimum Support Price.
The cotton marketing year runs from October to September.
Textile secretary Rashmi Verma said the government has come up with revised TUF (Textile Upgradation Fund Scheme) to give capital subsidy to the new units that will be set up and also to the existing ones which want to bring in modern machinery and increase their output.
“We will notify the guidelines for the new scheme by the end of the month. It will be used to bring in more investment in the sector,” she said. The government will also give incentives to the eastern States, including Bihar, Jharkhand and the north-eastern states for setting up textile units.
In the upcoming Budget, she said, the Textile Ministry proposes to set up two mega textile parks in the coastal areas.
Verma said companies should look at penetrating in other emerging markets such as South America, Russia and Africa.
“With China’s textile sector slowing down, countries like Russia, which were completely dependent on China have left a vacuum. Indian companies can take advantage of this,” she said.
Other emerging markets such as Vietnam and Bangladesh have already overtaken India, she pointed out.
“We are facing some teething problems, but it will be cleared soon. We are also concerned of reverse FDI as some of the big players are moving to countries like Ethiopia, Vietnam and Bangladesh to set up units,” she said.
Verma said lack of branding, quality control and mandatory zero liquid discharge are some of the issues that concern the textile industry. “A lot of work needs to be done. Zero liquid discharge being made mandatory is leading to closure of some units besides rise in cost of operations. We have taken up the matter with the environment ministry to relook at the clause,” she said. —PTI
We have decided not to sell the National Textile Corporation lands spread across the country
Santosh Gangwar,
Union minister
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