What is PM Mitra Yojana and its benefits?

PM MITRA PARKS

Credit: Swarajya

Why in news?

• Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the setting up of seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks at an outlay of Rs. 4,445 crore.

• The MITRA park aims to integrate the entire textile value chain from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing, printing to garment manufacturing at one location.

Funding

• Under the scheme, the center will provide development capital support for the development of common infrastructure of Rs 500 crore for each greenfield MITRA park and up to Rs 200 crore for each brownfield park.

• Greenfield describes a completely new project that has to be executed from scratch, while a brownfield project is one that has been worked on by others.

Significance

• Reduce Logistics Cost: It will reduce logistics costs and strengthen the value chain of the textile sector to make it globally competitive. High logistics costs are considered a key hurdle to India's goal of boosting textile exports. India had witnessed disruption in the supply of key raw materials from China in the recent past as global supply chains got affected during the pandemic.

• Generate Employment: Each MITRA park is expected to directly generate 1 lakh jobs and indirectly generate a further 2 lakh jobs.

• Attract FDI: The parks are crucial to attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). From April 2000 to September 2020, India's textile sector received Rs 20,468.62 crore of FDI, which is just 0.69% of the total FDI inflows during the period.