Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged Textile Minister Piyush Goyal to set up a greenfield Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (MITRA) park in Odisha.In a letter to Goyal, Pradhan said: "Odisha has a long and rich history of textiles and the handlooms of Odisha have gained world-wide acclaim for their design and quality. Various designs have existed here, such as Sambalpuri, Bomkei and Berhampuri. Odisha is also famous for its Ikat type of weaving."With this rich history and locally available competence in this area, Odisha is uniquely positioned to attract investments in the textiles and apparel sectors."Informing about the availability of skilled workforce in the state, Pradhan said that Odisha has emerged as the knowledge and skill hub in the presence of globally recognised institutes of higher learning, research and skill development, including CIPET, IIT, IIM, IIIT, NIT, AIIMS, NISER, Skill Development Institute, Indian Oil - ICT Odisha Campus.
Industrially too, "Odisha has a wide network of 10,000 km of highway, Paradip, Dhamara, Gopalpur ports, proximity to industrial hubs and Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) gas pipeline passing through the state", he added.Odisha also has an Industrial Policy and Apparel Policy in place to ensure smooth clearance of the project and provide adequate incentive to the industries.Under the Apparel Policy of Odisha, capital grant of 20 per cent of project cost up to Rs 20 crore and interest-free loan up to 10 per cent with maximum limit of Rs 10 crore is available to the industries presently, the Minister said.Textiles and Apparel Parks are currently under construction, one near to the major port of Dhamra and another near Bhubaneswar at Malipada, both with ready availability of facilities including power, water, and boundary walls.In addition, a Technical Textiles Park is being developed in Bhadrak, Pradhan further stated.Recently, the Union Ministry of Textile has announced setting up of seven MITRA parks in India.The parks will be developed by a special purpose vehicle (owned by state and Centre) in a PPP mode.