Mega Textile Parks

In News 

• Recently the government announced seven mega textile parks under the scheme PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA).

More about the PM MITRA Scheme

• Key highlights:
  • The seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) parks will be set up at Greenfield or Brownfield sites located in different states.
  • It will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will be owned by the State Government and the Government of India in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Mode. 
  • The scheme is inspired by the 5F vision of the Prime Minister of India. The ‘5F’ Formula encompasses 
    • farm to fibre; 
    • fibre to factory; 
    • factory to fashion; 
    • fashion to foreign. 
• Core infrastructure: 
  • It will include an incubation centre and plug and play facility, developed factory sites, roads, power, water and waste-water system, common processing house and CETP and other related facilities like design centre, testing centres, among others.
  • These parks will also have support infrastructures like workers’ hostels and housing, logistics park, warehousing, medical, training and skill development facilities.
  • The Scheme shall be implemented on a pan-India basis and is intended for the holistic development of the Textile sector.

The first phase

• Under the first phase of the PM MITRA scheme, large textile parks, spread across at least 1,000 acres, will come up in seven States —
  • Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh.
• It will house the entire textile value chain, from fibre to fabric to garments. 
• The parks will have plug-and-play manufacturing facilities and all the common amenities required.
• Role of Central government:
  • The Central government will disburse Development Capital Fund of ?500 crore in two tranches for each of the seven facilities. This is for the creation of core and support infrastructure.
• Role of State governments:
  • The State governments will provide the land, be part of the SPV, and give the required clearances. 

Significance 

• Self sufficiency:
  • It is in line with the vision of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ and to position India strongly on the Global textiles map.
• Streamlining value chain, investments & employment:
  • The scheme seeks to streamline the textile value chain into one ecosystem, taking in spinning, weaving and dyeing to printing and garment manufacturing, is expected to generate investments worth ?70,000 crore. 
  • It would also lead to the creation of 20 lakh jobs.
• Strengthening the sector:
  • The parks, which will be open for foreign direct investments, will be located in States that have inherent strengths in the textile sector. 
  • Each park will have effluent treatment plants, accommodation for workers, skill training centres and warehouses.
    • It is designed to attract investment from companies looking to scale up, requiring integrated manufacturing facilities in one location.
• Global competitiveness:
  • It will reduce logistics costs and strengthen the value chain of the textile sector to make it globally competitive.
  • Expanding the fibre and product line will give India a larger share in the global market, from the current 5%. 

Impact of PM MITRA on MSMEs

• The industry has mixed views on the immediate impact of the huge investments that are expected to come into the parks in existing units.
• MSME & textile sector:
  • The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector is said to control almost 80% of the textiles and apparels currently made in India. 
  • Further, the Indian textile and clothing units are more cotton-based. 
• Issues with supply chains:
  • With mounting challenges such as the global geopolitical situation, and overseas buyers exploring China as well as other sourcing options, the past two years have seen notable shifts in supply chains. 
• Significance of the scheme for the sector:
  • Orders are transitioning to suppliers who are highly price competitive and have sustainable production processes. 
  • The MSME exporters are also realising that there is a need for integrated, larger facilities and these factors are expected to drive the industry’s investment plans.

Way ahead

• In order to make a giant leap in exports and domestic sales, the industry has to also be price competitive right from the raw material stage and gear up to meet the sustainability and traceability demands of international buyers.
• The State governments and developers should give thrust to the PM MITRA parks for sustainable and cost-effective solutions for pollution control and other issues that the value-adding segments of the textile chain face. 
  • India can take a cue from countries such as Turkey where integrated textile parks are highly efficient.

Source: TH