22 investment proposals made as 2-day textile meet concludes: TOI
Patna: A total of 22 investors, who attended the two-day Textile Investors’ Meet that concluded here on Friday, announced to invest in the sector in Bihar.
Besides, Union textiles minister Giriraj Singh, who attended the meet, said the Centre has accepted a few demands of the state, including two handloom and handicraft centres in Gaya and one in Bhagalpur; handloom and silk-special infrastructure projects for Bhagalpur, Nawada, Nalanda and Patna, and another NIFT for the state.
“Besides, a national-level handloom expo will be held here in October,” said Singh, adding now focus was on developing Begusarai and other places as textile clusters after the development of Bettiah. “We will choose another cluster only when one attains the saturation point,” he said.
Singh further said the ministry wanted to open a regional office in Bihar for further strengthening the textile sector.
Later, talking to media persons, he cautioned the opposition that they should refrain from spreading rumours of any kind as Bihar was on its path of development and many investors were showing keen interest in doing business in the state.
“Among the investors who attended the meet, 90% came here for the first time, and over 60% of the total showed interest in investing in the state,” said Singh, adding, Bihar’s industry-friendly schemes are removing people’s hesitation about doing business in the state. “Hence opposition should not spread any kind of rumours and defame Bihar, as investors are coming to the state because of a positive atmosphere, of late, in the region,” he said.
However, dodging a direct reply to a question on the demand for a special category status to Bihar, Singh said that with help of the double-engine government, the state would become “developed”.
Singh said in terms of manpower availability, Bihar, along with Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, is apt for the development of the textile sector. The sector will become a growth engine for the state and further increase Bihar’s gross domestic product,” he said, adding the industry employed a total of 4.5 crore people at national level, and that the govt intended to take up the figure to five crore in financial year 2024-25.
He further said that the textile sector was the only area where nearly 70% of the workforce comprised women.
State industries minister Nitish Mishra said after agriculture textile was the greatest employer.
