K'taka to get new garment policy

The state government is planning to introduce a new garment policy aimed at putting the textile industry on the fast track.

As part of the policy, the government will invest Rs 500 crore in activities like training people employed in the sector and setting up textile parks.

According to Ashok Kumar Manoli, Commissioner for Textiles, Karnataka, the policy will train five lakh people to benefit the industry over the next five years.

"We have been seeing that lately a lot of other competitive states are getting investment in textile. We are introducing this policy so that we can attract more players to set up base here, including international ones," he said.

"We will also see to it that textile manufactures in the state have greater access to technology," he added.

The policy, which is likely to be introduced soon, will address the needs from the yarn to apparel manufacturers. The government will also invest in setting up training centres as part of the policy, which will be done in conjunction with private players, Manoli said.

Over the past few years, textile manufacturers in the state have been urging the government to take several steps to help the sector like making labour laws more flexible and making more land available to enable them to ramp up operations.