Apparel parks will be set up in three centres

Chennai: Infrastructure for the textile industry would be strengthened in three centres in Tamil Nadu under special schemes.

Apparel parks would be set up at Erode, Komarapalayam and Karur at a total cost of Rs 266.19 crore, according to an official press release.

The release, which quoted the address of Minister for Handloom, Mr N.K.K.P. Raja, in the Assembly on Thursday , said the Centre has sanctioned 13 special projects (under the Scheme of Integrated Textile Parks) at a total cost of Rs 736.60 crore.

The Nethaji Tirupur Apparel Park, to promote knitwear industries and wind energy projects, had been set up under this programme. Eleven more projects were under way, and they would generate 1.15-lakh jobs. The Centre has said that the Technology Upgradation Fund to support the modernisation of the textile industry would be continued during the Eleventh Plan period, he said. To support the weavers, the State Government would declare Nagercoil and Virudhunagar as export zones.

Over 1,000 weavers would be linked to exporters to ensure continuous jobs through export orders. A Rs 1.23-crore scheme would be implemented with State and Central Government funds, the minister said.

Textile policy soon


PTI adds: Tamil Nadu would soon come out with its own Textile Policy, titled State Textile vision 2012, Mr Raja told the Assembly.

Replying to a debate on the demands for grants pertaining to his Ministry, he said the main thrust of the policy would be on developing and modernising the textile industry in the State.

The policy would cover all the three major textile sectors, handlooms, powerlooms and textile mills, he said.

The weavers in the handlooms cooperatives would get a 10 per cent hike in their dearness allowance from May 1, he added.

A textile handloom weaver training institute would be set up in Erode district, to update the skills of the weavers, he said.