K’taka interested on proposed mega textile park in state

The Karnataka government has shown keen interest on mega textile parks in the state, Secretary in the Textiles ministry U P Singh said on Friday. “Karnataka is keen on a mega textile park in the state. We have not yet taken any decision on any of the proposals because the project is still in its infancy,” Singh told reporters. He was here to interact with the representatives of textile industry to apprise them about the various incentives offered by the Centre to those planning to expand their business. According to Singh, seven mega textile parks have been planned in the country though locations have not yet been decided. Singh added that the parks will come up only in those states which will fulfill certain parameters such as 1,000 acres, investor friendly policies, good connectivity through road, rail and port, regular water and power supply. Karnataka Principal Secretary in the department of handloom and textiles, Pankaj Kumar Pandey, who accompanied Singh, said the state government has sent a proposal for more than one textile park in the state but the Centre has not yet responded. Speaking about his Karnataka visit, Singh said the Centre has offered a Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLIS) and he wanted to apprise industrialists in textile business about this. “Karnataka is one of the garmenting hubs of India. Since the Government of India is offering incentives for five years to the textile industry as well, we wanted to the industrialists here to avail the benefits,” Singh said. According to him, the industries with Rs 600 crore turnover can avail 15 per cent incentive in the first year, which decreases year on year by one per cent for five years. Those with Rs 200 crore turnover can avail 11 per cent incentive every year, which decreases by one per cent each year for five years when the scheme ends. He added that the government has made a fund limit of Rs 10,683 crore for five years. The PLIS scheme is mainly for manmade fabric and not natural fibre such as cotton, silk, jute and wool. Replying to a query from reporters, the central textile secretary said at present 65 per cent of textiles in India is cotton while 35 per cent is manmade whereas abroad, the proportion is reverse. In developed countries 70 per cent is manmade fibre while 30 per cent is natural.