BENGALURU: In its bid to be the textile and apparel capital of India, Karnataka is all set to roll out a Textile and Garment Policy 2025-30.
Speaking at the Invest Karnataka 2025 GIM, Textiles Commissioner K Jyothi hinted at the government implementing the policy in a couple of months with a promise of more incentives for investors and scope for technical textiles. Two units of technical textiles are coming up, she said.
“The policy is at the draft level as I have held a couple of rounds of talks with all stakeholders from the scratch, including at the taluk level. Soon, it will be rolled out ahead of the next financial year,” she said.
Transaction advisor for the PM Mitra Park, Sanjay Arora, said the country is looking at the China model, replicating something like the ‘sock city’ Datang, which is dedicated to manufacturing only socks.
“One city produces 1.35 billion pairs of socks annually and generates 1.6 lakh jobs with 80% of its labourers being migrants. We will try in our own way, and not replicate it as a cut-and-paste model,” he said.
The fashion industry has matured in India with people not going on a buying spree only during festivals but also seasonally, he remarked. “From waking up to going to bed, individuals have developed a habit of changing their attire 3-5 times,” he said, adding that the textile industry is prepared to tap the potential.
In his presentation, he said India can attract investments of USD 100 billion by USD 2030, of which Karnataka too will get a share. India, which has USD 184 billion turnover domestically as of 2024, will touch USD 350 billion by 2030 and exports will increase from USD 37 billion to USD 100 billion, he pointed out.
He clarified that the interests of traditional handloom weavers too will be protected while setting up the PM Mitra textile park in Kalaburagi by providing a zone dedicated for artisans.
MoUs worth Rs 150 crore signed
The textiles sector in Karnataka attracted about Rs 150 crore investments with Big Bags International Ltd, with Rekha R Kamath as its proprietor, based in Mangaluru alone committing Rs 100 crore to set up a unit for the manufacture of technical textile. But she did not turn up for the signing of the MoU.
Sudhakar S Shetty of Tumakhane Sanjeeva Shetty Exports of Koppa in Chikkamagaluru district signed an MoU for garments of Rs 14.5 crore.
Komal Jain of Jain Polyventures of Davanagere signed an MoU for Rs 10 for the setting up a poly-woven socks printing unit and Dr Sharana Bhoopal Reddy of Basaveshwara Textile Industries of Wadagere taluk in Yadgir district signed an MoU for setting up rapier weaving units of Rs 6 crore.
Young entrepreneurs Pushpa D K and Nutan K Shivanananda of Davanagere and Shankar Gouda of Yadgir were among those who signed MoUs.