Pradhan requests Goyal for greenfield PM-MITRA park in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal to consider a greenfield PM-MITRA park in Odisha in view of the immense potential of the state in the sector.

Recently, the Central government has announced a scheme of Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) to enable the textile industry to become globally competitive and attract large investments.

 “The Ministry of Textile has recently announced setting up of seven mega MITRA parks in India, to be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle (owned by the state government and Government of India) in a public private partnership mode with an aim to help Indian companies to emerge as global champions in textile and apparel sector,” said Pradhan in a letter to Goyal.

Pradhan informed that Odisha has a long and rich history of textiles.

The handlooms of Odisha have gained world-wide acclaim for their design and quality. Various designs have existed in Odisha, such as Sambalpuri, Bomkei and Berhampuri. Odisha is also famous for its Ikat type of weaving, he added.

“With this rich history and locally available competence in this area, Odisha is uniquely positioned to attract investments in the textiles and apparel sectors,” said the Minister.

Over the past few years, Odisha has also emerged as the knowledge and skill hub with presence of globally recognised institutes of higher learning & research and skill development including CIPET, IIT, IIM, IIIT, NIT, AllMS, NISER, Skill Development Institute, IndianOil – ICT Odisha Campus.

The Minister said the state is one of the first to have a dedicated Skill Development Authority, which develops customised training programs for workers based on industry’s requirement.

Odisha is uniquely poised logistically and industrially too with a wide network of 10,000 Kilometres of Highway, Paradip, Dhamara, Gopalpur Ports, proximity to Industrial Hubs and Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) Gas Pipeline passing through the state.

Apparel and textiles, including technical textiles is one of the 6 focus sectors of the State.

Odisha has also an Industrial Policy and Apparel Policy in place to ensure smooth clearance of the project and provide adequate incentive to the industries.

Under the apparel policy of Government of Odisha, capital grant of 20% of project cost up to Rs.20 crore and interest free loan up to 10%, maximum limit of Rs.10 crore is available to the industries presently, the Minister informed. 

He said companies such as Sahi Exports, Aditya Birla Fashion and several others have already set up their manufacturing bases in Odisha.

Two textile and apparel parks are already under construction, one near to the major port of Dhamra and another near Bhubaneswar at Malipada. In addition, a technical textiles park is being developed in Bhadrak, he said.