Gujarat & MP compete for investment in textile sector

16 Jan '13

2 min read

There will be a very healthy competition for attracting investment in the textile sector between the western Indian state of Gujarat and the central state of Madhya Pradesh (MP), according to an expert.

“The Government of Gujarat has come out with a good policy to attract investment in the textile sector,” Mr. Ajay Sahai, Director General & CEO Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) told fibre2fashion.

Analyzing the Gujarat textile sector, Mr. Sahai says, “Despite availability of cotton, very few spinning mills are there in Gujarat. Secondly, the share of Gujarat in India’s garment exports is miniscule, at less than five percent of India’s total apparel exports.”

“It is surprising that a state like Gujarat, which has surplus power supply and availability of skilled labour, does not figure in the top two garment exporting states of India. The new textile policy will attract investment in spinning and weaving and eventually pave the way for Gujarat emerging as the front runner in garment export also,” opines Mr. Sahai.

“The Government of Gujarat has extended both fiscal and non-fiscal benefits through the new textile policy, and the good thing is that to match that facility the Government of Madhya Pradesh has also released a new textile policy,” says Mr. Sahai.

He adds, “So, there will be very healthy competition between Gujarat and MP for attracting investment in textile sector and the investors will have a very good choice whether to invest in Gujarat or MP.”

“Madhya Pradesh also contributes one-sixth of the cotton produced in the country and it has few polyester and man-made units. This will give rise to a very healthy competition, which is a good sign because in both the cases India will be a winner,” Mr. Sahai avers.

“We have a huge goal for textile industry because it is the second largest employer after agriculture. We are projecting a growth of about 15 percent in India’s textile industry over the next three years,” he concludes.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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