Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged Textile Minister Piyush Goyal to set up a greenfield Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) park in Odisha.
Odisha also has an Industrial and Apparel Policy in place to ensure smooth clearance of the project and provide adequate incentive to the industries, Pradhan said in a letter to Goyal.
Under the Apparel Policy of Odisha, capital grant of 20 per cent of project cost up to Rs 20 crore and interest-free loan up to 10 per cent with maximum limit of Rs 10 crore is available to the industries presently, the Minister noted.
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Pradhan further informed the Union Textiles Minister that several Apparel Parks are currently under construction, one near to the major port of Dhamra and another near Bhubaneswar at Malipada, both with ready availability of facilities including power, water, and boundary walls.
In addition, a Technical Textiles Park is being developed in Bhadrak.
Informing about the availability of skilled workforce in the state, Pradhan said that Odisha has emerged as the knowledge and skill hub in the presence of globally recognised institutes of higher learning, research and skill development, including CIPET, IIT, IIM, IIIT, NIT, AIIMS, NISER, Skill Development Institute, Indian Oil - ICT Odisha Campus.
Justifying the demand of the project, he further said that Odisha has a wide network of 10,000 km of highway with ports like Paradip, Dhamra, Gopalpur having proximity to industrial hubs and Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) gas pipeline passing through the state.
In the letter, Pradhan highlighted that Odisha has a long and rich history of textiles and the handlooms of Odisha have gained worldwide 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, the Union Minister stated.
Recently, the Union Ministry of Textile has announced setting up of seven MITRA parks in India. They will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle which will be owned by State Government and Government of India in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode.
The GOI Development Capital Support will be 30% of the Project Cost, with a cap of Rs500cr. Competitiveness Incentive Support (CIS) of ₹300 Crore will also be provided to each PM MITRA park for early establishment of textiles manufacturing units in the park.