Govt to revive defunct textiles parks

As part of Make in India, the govt has approved 72 textiles parks so far of which between 40-45 are unoperational

In a bid to revive textiles sector, the government is looking to revive defunct textiles parks for which it has started drawing up plans in consultation with respective state governments.

Confirming the development, Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta, said: "The government is planning to revive textile parks currently remained unoperational. The government is commited to extend all possible supports to the textile sector to exploit the potential lies in both domestic and international markets."

The government has approved 72 textiles parks so far of which between 40-45 are unoperational, spread across the country. Also, the government has initiated special focus on technical textiles that have immense potential too.

When asked about investment, Gupta said that will not be a hindrance.

Interestingly, defunct textiles parks in many cotton growing states face basic infrastructure issues like uninterrupted electricity, sanitation, availability of water, proximity with consuming market etc because of which many investors abstain from investing in textile parks.

"We have held meetings with the ministry (of Textiles) with brief discussion on the possibility of the revival of textiles parks. We think this deserves a special attention which we are ready to extend. Some developments are expected very soon," said Gupta.

With the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's increased emphasis on "Make in India", sectors that generate employment along with potential of forex earnings are expected to get a boost.

Being a labour intensive industry, textile sector is the second largest employment provider only after agriculture. Also, India exports textiles worth $40 billion annually, largely to the United States and Europe. India's textiles exports are mainly summer-wear centric with over 60% of market share.

"We have already achived a significant market share in summer wear and achieved saturation. Now, we need to expand our product portfolio through entering into new segments like winter wear, kids' wear, where immense potential lies," said Rahul Mehta, President, Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India (CMAI).

India's textiles exports are likely to decline marginally to $40 billion this year aa against $41.4 billion last year.