A Memorandum of Understanding to establish the first PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district was signed in the presence of Union Minister Piyush Goyal and state Chief Minister MK Stalin. A total of 11 MoUs between State authorities and companies were also exchanged on investment commitments in the PM MITRA project in Tamil Nadu.
Giving a big boost to the textile sector in the Country, the PM MITRA Parks, in all, would create huge employment opportunities and an estimated 20 lakh people would get ‘new work’ attracting about Rs 70,000 crore investment.
Some of the major investments and MoUs signed include Rs. 600 crores investment by Rajapalayam Mills for setting up Spinning plant. The new project will provide employment for 2700 people. Madurai based Paramount Textile Mill has announced investment of Rs. 125 crores for a wet processing unit. This new unit is expected to generate employment opportunities for 500 people. Thiagarajar Mills has announced investment of Rs. 100 crores on a wet processing unit and Loyal Textiles has announced setting up of an integrated technical textiles unit at an investment of Rs. 65 crores.
Tamil Nadu textiles and clothing accounts 1/3rd of the textile business size, 45% of the spinning capacity, 70% of the knitted garment capacity, 40% of the home textiles manufacturing capacity, 22% of the powerloom capacity, 12% of handloom capacity, 60% of yarn exports, providing direct jobs to over 60 lakh people and the only State having presence of whole textile value chain, has been playing a pivotal role in the country’s economy as the textile industry being the second largest employment provider of the Nation, next only to agriculture.
SIMA Chairman Ravi Sam said, “The recent announcement by the Union Government, allocating a Park to Tamil Nadu (at a cost of Rs.1,800 crore in Virudhunagar district and for this purpose 1,052 acres of land would be acquired and completed by SIPCOT) through the PM MITRA mega textile park scheme and the infrastructure support extended by the government of Tamil Nadu through this budget, would increase the scale of operation and value-addition. This facility is expected to provide infrastructure facility for textile processing, the weakest link in the whole textile value chain. He has also welcomed the announcement of 10 mini handloom parks with a total outlay of Rs.20 crores to upgrade the standard of handloom products by using latest technologies and creating market linkages. Mr. Ravi Sam has welcomed the announcement of new industrial parks in the clusters of Virudhunagar, Vellore, Kallakurichi, and Coimbatore at an estimated cost of Rs.410 crore for providing employment opportunities to nearly 22,000 persons. He has stated that industrial housing facility to be established in the SIPCOT Industrial Park in Gangaikondan at an estimated cost of Rs.50 crore to accommodate 1,500 employees is a welcome move.