The Hindu Business Line : Textile policy to give thrust to job creation in Bengal

Plans galore
The plan was to provide a million jobs in Bengal in textile sector by 2012.
Some 146 small and medium entrepreneurs engaged in hosiery and related manufacturing have shown interest in investing in the park.

Our Bureau

Kolkata, March 16 Pointing out that the knitwear and other textile segments in West Bengal were now poised to make a significant contribution towards employment generation, Mr Manoj Pant, State Textile Commissioner and MD of West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation, told Business Line here on Sunday that the just announced textile policy of the State Government (already gazette notified) would address the needs of all the four textile segments — handlooms, garments, apparels and hosiery/knitwear.

Speaking at the sidelines of the inaugural session of the annual general meeting of West Bengal Hosiery Association, he said steps have been initiated through the new textile policy to convert the Bengal textile industry into a modern, vibrant sector contributing handsomely to the nation’s overall GDP.

Urging the hosiery industry to do its utmost to upgrade skills, he said the plan was to provide a million jobs in Bengal in textile sector by 2012. Mr Pant said all out efforts need to be mounted to fructify the proposed Rs 100-crore Hosiery Park project coming up in Howrah district, in an area of 125 acres. Work on the WBHA-implemented Textiles Park, which is being earmarked as a special cluster zone such as like Tirupur in Tamil Nadu), is going on.

Mr K.B. Agarwala, President of WBHA, said some 100 bighas of land (out of the required 375 bighas) have already been purchased for the hosiery park through a Special Purpose Vehicle (West Bengal Hosiery Park Infrastructure Ltd). Some 146 small and medium entrepreneurs engaged in hosiery and related manufacturing have shown interest in investing in the park.

Pointing out that the first criteria of Central Government’s Scheme of Integrated Textile Parks (SITP) was “SPVs must have land”, Mr Agarwala admitted that so far the land purchase process was “slow and scattered”. He said the cotton hosiery innerwear industry in Bengal was the second largest in the country, and also the second largest employer after the jute sector.

More Stories on : Textiles | Policy | West Bengal

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page