Textile body AEPC hails PM MITRA initiative; 'India will emerge as global frontrunner'

The Apparel Industry has praised the Central government’s initiative of setting up seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM-MITRA) Parks across the country. Appreciating the government’s initiative, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Dr A Sakthivel on Wednesday dubbed the move as an initiative to make India's textile industry as a global frontrunner.

AEPC Chairman hails PM MITRA initiative

The AEPC Chairman hs extended his gratitude and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Commerce & Textiles Piyush Goyal for the PM MITRA Park scheme. In an official statement, he said that the PM MITRA park initiative is the seventh measure, among the series of initiatives taken by the government to promote Indian textiles. 

"We are extremely thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking a series of steps to promote the Indian textiles sector -- PM MITRA Parks being the seventh in this series. It will attract massive foreign and domestic investment in the sector making it globally competitive while helping create lakhs of jobs," Sakthivel said in an official statement. 

APEC chairman exuded his confidence in the growth of the textile sector and claimed that the annual exports of the textile industry will earn over US $100 billion in revenue in coming years. 

"The sector, which is the second-largest employment generator in the country, alone will play a major role in realizing Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The recent steps namely Production Linked Incentive (PLI), Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP), Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme, along with the decision to clear all pending export incentive dues this year, removal of anti-dumping duty on key raw materials and fast-tracking of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations will greatly boost the competitiveness of the domestic textiles industry and bring economies of scale," the chairman said.

Despite having all of the necessary players from farm to fashion, the country has lagged behind in the global garment trade due to a number of reasons that have finally been rectified. MITRA Parks, which will bring all actors in the textile value chain together at one location, will help reduce logistical costs and delivery times, Dr Sakthivel noted.

7 PM MITRA Parks to be set up with an outlay of Rs.4,445 Crore

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of seven PM MITRA parks with an expenditure of 4,445 crores for a period of five years, as announced in the Union Budget 2021-22. The initiative was taken to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of creating an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-sufficient India) and bringing India on par with global textile giants.

(With ANI Inputs)

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