Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal to set up a greenfield Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) park in Odisha.
In a letter to Goyal on Monday, Pradhan said, “Odisha has a long and rich history of textiles and the handlooms of Odisha have gained world-wide acclaim for their design and quality. Various designs have existed here, such as Sambalpuri, Bomkei and Berhampuri. Odisha is also famous for its Ikat type of weaving. With this rich history and locally available competence in this area, Odisha is uniquely positioned to attract investments in the textiles and apparel sectors.”
Regarding the availability of skilled workforce, Pradhan said Odisha has emerged as the knowledge and skill hub with the location of globally-recognised institutes of higher learning, research and skill development such as CIPET, IIT, IIM, IIIT, NIT, AIIMS, NISER, Skill Development Institute, Indian Oil-ICT Odisha Campus.
“Odisha (also) has a wide network of 10,000 km of highway, Paradip, Dhamara, Gopalpur ports, proximity to industrial hubs and Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) gas pipeline passing through the State,” he stated.
The State also has an Industrial Policy and an Apparel Policy to ensure smooth clearance of the project and provide adequate incentive to the industries. Under the Apparel Policy, capital grant of 20% of project cost up to Rs 20 crore and interest-free loan up to 10% with maximum limit of Rs 10 crore are available to the industries, he said.
Textiles and Apparel Parks are currently under construction, one near to the port of Dhamra and another at Malipada near Bhubaneswar with facilities like power, water, and boundary walls. Additionally, a Technical Textiles Park is being developed in Bhadrak, Pradhan
stated.
Notably, the Union Ministry of Textile has announced setting up of seven MITRA parks in the country to be developed by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by the States and the Centre in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
Source : Daily Pioneer
