The state government of Maharashtra has decided to finalise the proposed textile policy drafted by Suresh Halwankar, BJP MLA from Ichalkaranji, after September 11. The policy is expected to attract investments worth Rs 80,000 crores in the form of new machineries, development of new clusters and infrastructure provision.
Halwankar says, the state government has approved the policy in-principle and it is now being discussed at the secretary level to deliberate on issues like selection of locations, available infrastructure, power requirement and its supply. Sighting lack of facilities to cater to the entire cotton to garment supply chain, Halwankar said that there is not a single industrial unit, which can convert cotton into finished garments. Vidarbha region in Maharashtra produces cotton but ginning mills are in Marathwada, primary processing is done in Ichalkaranji and then it either goes to Bhiwandi in Mumbai or Rajasthan or Kanpur or Tamil Nadu as per the requirement. And final stitched product is finally shipped from Bangladesh to India.
To eliminate this lengthy process and crate employment opportunities, the textile policy has suggested several steps. The policy document says, “The textile industry is second only to agriculture in terms of importance. It has the capacity to create maximum jobs/employment after agriculture. The object of the policy is to lay special emphasis on raising processing units at various levels for assured long-term development on priority basis in the cotton producing sector, expansion of the textile industry and growth of employment in the state.”
Mahatextile.maharashtra.gov.in
