Union Government approved setting up of seven mega integrated textile region and apparel parks (PM Mitra) for a total outlay of Rs 4,445 crore over five years. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced the scheme on Wednesday. He said the project could potentially create 21 lakh jobs and boost production and export-led growth.
Investment
The minister added that PM Mitra parks would be set up at varied Greenfield and Brownfield sites in participating states. He stated that the participation of states would be voluntary. The government would be extending a development capital support of Rs 500 crore to all Greenfields and Rs 200 crore to Brownfields under the scheme. The idea here is to facilitate the common infrastructure of the park which has been pegged at 30 per cent of the total project cost. Further, Rs 300 crore would be extended as competitiveness incentive support.
“For a Greenfield PM MITRA park, the GOI Development Capital Support will be 30% of the Project Cost, with a cap of â¹ 500 Cr. For Brownfield sites, after assessment, Development Capital Support @30% of project cost of balance infrastructure and other support facilities to be developed and restricted to a limit of Rs. 200 Crore,” he stated.
The idea behind these investments is to make the projects viable and attractive for private sector participation. The parks would have to allocate 50 per cent area for pure manufacturing activity, 20 per cent for utilities and 10 per cent for commercial development.
Ownership
The parks would be collectively owned by the state and central governments in a Public-private partnership (PPP) model. The master developer would also be responsible for maintaining the park during the construction period. The selection of the developer would be based on criteria that would be jointly laid out by state and central governments.
It was pointed out that Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Assam Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana have expressed their interest in setting up such parks.
PLB Bonus for Railways
The Commerce Minister further announced that Union Cabinet approved productivity linked bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages for non-gazetted Railway employees excluding RPF/RPSF personnel. It estimated the total financial implication for the bonus would be around Rs 1948.73 crore.
The maximum amount to be endowed to each eligible employee has been capped at Rs 17, 951 for 78 days. The minimum payable amount has been set to Rs 7000/month.
“The decision of the Cabinet shall be implemented before the holidays for this year as well,” the press communication added.
