Uttar Pradesh poised to drive the next big textile boom
Lucknow: The Central Government intends that India should become a global textile hub in the coming years. For this, it has also set an ambitious target. For example, the intention of the Center is to export garments worth $100 billion (about Rs 8250 billion) by 2030. On the other hand, the Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh is also determined to make UP the hub of the country’s textile industry in view of the very rich and glorious heritage of the textile industry in the state.
As part of the government’s commitment to the double engine, initiatives have already been taken to achieve this ambitious target. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal announced setting up of a thousand acres of textile park in Lucknow-Hardoi under the Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textiles and Apparel (PM Mitra) scheme. The MoU signed in the presence of Goyal and Union Minister of State for Textiles Vikram Zardosh is proof of this.
It is worth mentioning that according to the rich tradition of the textile industry, the Yogi government intends to make Uttar Pradesh the hub of the country in the field of textile industry. The efforts made so far in this area and the policy proposals that are in the pipeline matter. He has attracted investors in this sector.
46 investment proposals worth Rs 5642 crore were received in GBC
This is the reason that a total of 46 proposals were received for this sector during the ground breaking ceremony GBC-3 held in the capital Lucknow a few months back. Through these proposals, a total investment of Rs 5642 crore will be made in this sector. This is seven per cent of the Rs 80,224 crore proposals in GBC-3. Many districts of the state will be covered by these investments. Lakhs of people will also get employment in these districts.
Textile industry is an area of possibilities
The textile industry is a field of possibilities. According to Invest India’s report (July-2020), on an average 70 people get employment per one crore investment in this sector. The BJP has set a target of one employment for every family in its Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra-2022. In the manifesto, commitment has been expressed to make Uttar Pradesh the “textile hub” of the country.
Rs 7500 crore investment target in five years
In order to achieve this goal, the relevance of this sector increases further. That is why the Department of Handloom and Textiles has set a target of investment of 7500 crores to provide five lakh employment opportunities in five years.
According to the intention of the Chief Minister, there is every possibility of Uttar Pradesh becoming a textile hub of the country. There are many reasons for this. For example, being the most populated country, there is a market for finished goods and plenty of human resources to work. Better connectivity will play an important role in this due to the construction of expressways and airports to bring raw materials and send finished goods to other states as per demand. After the construction of Ganga Expressway, Gorakhpur Link Expressway, International Airport under construction in Ayodhya and Jewar, the connectivity of UP with the country and the world will be even better. The entrepreneurs setting up industries in the concerned area will get the benefit of all this.
The state has a rich tradition in the field of textile
Due to the rich tradition of textile industry in the state, there is no dearth of skilled workers. The need is to enhance their skills by giving them training according to the time. Silk sarees of Varanasi, hand-made carpets of Bhadohi, Chikankari of Lucknow, zari zardozi of Bareilly, readymade garments of Noida have their own identity in the country and the world. 34 districts of the state are handloom dominated. The number of handlooms, handloom weavers and weavers cooperatives are 1.91 lakh, 0.80 lakh and 20421 respectively.
Similarly, Mau, Ambedkar Nagar, Varanasi, Meerut, Kanpur, Jhansi, Etawah, Santakbirnagar etc. districts are dominated by powerlooms. The number of powerlooms and weavers and powerlooms working on them are 2.58 to 5.50 lakh respectively. These figures and products are proof of our rich tradition.
Apparel Park will be built in Noida, investment of three thousand crores will come
On the basis of all these possibilities, the Yogi government is working in a phased manner to make the state a global textile hub. The government will set up an apparel park in Noida to organize the production of readymade garments, which have gained recognition in the country and the world. About 115 export-oriented units of readymade garments are targeted to be set up in this park. According to an estimate, an investment of three thousand crores will come in this. The process will be started soon in this regard. The foundation stone has been laid in July and all units are targeted for commercial production by September 2025. Apart from this, the government also plans to make five textile and apparel on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. For this, the process of tender will be started by marking the land by September next year. The target is to start production in these by 2026.
Flatted factories will be built in cities with rich tradition
In order to give an organized form to this industry, the government will set up flatted factories in the cities or areas where there is a rich tradition of readymade garments. In the first phase, Kanpur Nagar, Gorakhpur and Agra have been selected for this. Keeping in view the possibilities of cluster approach, the government will also set up textile industry in the industrial corridors to be built along all the expressways as per the tradition of that area. Later, under National Handloom Development Program and MSECDP scheme, Rs.500 crore will be spent.
Such clusters will be developed in R blocks.
In order to make Uttar Pradesh a textile hub, the government will also lay emphasis on marketing of finished goods under Brand UP. In this sequence, the government will enter into an MoU with the big players of online platforms like Flipkart, Amazon. Weavers will also be given training to onboard their products.
