17 textile mills of Kerala govt sector need revival

26 Jun '17

2 min read

Close to 17 textile mills in the government and cooperative sectors of Kerala need revival and an expert committee has suggested infusing Rs 494.81 crore in capital for it. The one-time fund infusion needs to be time-bound, considering that all the mills should benefit at the same time. This will depend on the political will of the Kerala government.

The sector employs thousands of people and the government does not have time to lose, P Nandakumar, chairman of the expert committee told a leading daily. He is sceptical about the government's understanding about the situation's enormity and its potential to bring about a socio-economic change for society's lower rungs.

The expert committee worked in association with the South Indian Textile Research Association and suggested implementing the strategy over a period of nine months. Time-bound implementation will help the mills grow and begin making profits from the third year itself, said Nandakumar.

The chairman also said that the infusion has to be a one-time requirement and the mills will be capable of upgrading themselves within 5 years. Stakeholders as well as workers will benefit from the revival. One an average, workers can be expected to earn Rs 20,000 per month.

The size of Kerala's local market is Rs 3,500 crore and the per capita consumption of cloth in Kerala is 34 metres, as opposed to the all-India average of 16-17 metres. The expert committee has recommended that the government can cater to this demand by developing a Kerala brand using the capacities of handloom, powerloom and spinning mills.

Implementation of the strategy to revive the mills is expected to increase capacity utilisation from 55.4 per cent to 98.5 per cent. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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