Mega textile parks on the anvil

To attract higher foreign investment in the textile sector, India has planned a complete overhaul of a scheme to create world-class infrastructure facilities for setting up textile units. The government is considering a plan to set up 1,000-acre mega textile parks as it revamps the Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP) whose slow progress is attributed to delay in obtaining land and other statutory clearances from state governments and slow fund mobilisation by the textile parks.

Launched in 2005, the scheme aims to provide industry with state of the art world-class infrastructure facilities for setting up their textile units. A total of 59 textile parks have been sanctioned under SITP by the textiles ministry out of which 22 textile parks have been completed and rest are under various stages of construction Textiles Ministry has circulated a cabinet note.

As per another official, the overhauled scheme could be part of the proposed textile policy for which many detailed studies are going on. “The idea to make mega textile parks is to attract FDI,” said another official. From April 2000 to September 2019, India’s textiles sector received Rs 19,398.71 crore or $3.3 billion of FDI which is 0.74 per cent of the total inflows.

Under the SITP, infrastructure facilities for setting up of textile units are developed in a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model, with the government granting up to 40 per cent of project cost with ceiling limit of Rs 40 crore for each park.