Tamil Nadu has offered to set up mini textile parks for handlooms and textiles. The state will bear 50 per cent of the total cost for creating infrastructure facilities such as laying of roads, sewage treatment plant, captive power plant and telecommunication. Ten entrepreneurs could form a cluster and set up a mini textile park on ten acres of land after registering a Special Purpose Vehicle. They should buy the land on their own and establish a minimum of 10 work sheds in the park to avail of the subsidy for the infrastructure.

The total investment on buildings and machinery should be more than two times the amount spent for creating infrastructure facilities. The establishment of such parks is expected to help improve the standard of living of handloom and power loom weavers. The handloom industry is the second largest employer in Tamil Nadu after agriculture. Tamil Nadu accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the country’s handloom textiles production and 50 per cent of exports. It has over six lakh handloom units and 1,400 cooperative societies. Handloom weaving with products ranging from duster cloth to silk saris is a common occupation throughout the state.

However, demand is disappearing for traditional handloom products owing to changing consumer preferences. The industry lacks infrastructure to upgrade the looms.