The Ministry of Textiles has recently announced the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme. This initiative, designed to boost the Indian textile industry, will bring together the Central and State Governments with private enterprise to create specialised parks dedicated to textiles manufacturing and processing.
About PM MITRA Parks Scheme
The PM MITRA Parks Scheme aims to establish parks that will be overseen by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The SPV will be jointly owned by the Central and State Government, in addition to private entities operating on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Each park will house an incubation centre, a common processing house, a common effluent treatment plant and other key facilities such as design centres and testing centres. Furthermore, the responsibility of developing and maintaining these Industrial Parks will fall on the Master Developer.
Funding and Incentives under the PM MITRA Parks Scheme
To support the creation of these parks, the Central government will provide developmental capital amounting to Rs 500 crore for each new ‘greenfield’ MITRA park – i.e., parks built from scratch – and up to Rs 200 crore for existing ‘brownfield’ parks – i.e., previously developed parks. The scheme also provides additional incentives. To accelerate the establishment of manufacturing units within these parks, a Competitiveness Incentive Support of Rs 300 crore will be offered. Investors who set up ‘anchor plants’ employing at least 100 people will be entitled to incentives of upto Rs 10 crore yearly for a maximum of three years.
Significance of PM MITRA Parks Scheme
The PM MITRA Parks Scheme is of considerable importance. It aims to reduce logistics costs and strengthen the textile sector’s value chain, critical steps to enhance India’s global competitiveness in this domain. High logistics costs are a significant barrier to increasing India’s textile exports. Besides, each park is projected to generate 1 lakh jobs directly and an additional 2 lakh jobs indirectly. Furthermore, these parks are expected to draw Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the sector.
Overview of India’s Textile Sector
The textile industry holds an important place in the Indian economy, preserving traditional skills, heritage and culture. It contributes 2.3% to India’s Gross Domestic Product, 7% of industrial output, 12% to India’s export earnings, and it employs more than 21% of total employment. India is also a significant global player, ranking as the world’s 6th largest producer of technical textiles with a 6% global share, the largest producer of cotton & jute, and the second-largest producer of silk. Additionally, a stunning 95% of the world’s handwoven fabric comes from India.
Major Initiatives for Promoting India’s Textile Sector
In addition to the PM MITRA Parks Scheme, a number of other initiatives have been launched to bolster India’s textile sector. These include the Production Linked Incentive Scheme, National Technical Textiles Mission, Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP), SAMARTH Scheme, North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS), Power-Tex India, Silk Samagra Scheme, and Jute ICARE.