The Tamil Nadu government has initiated steps to establish a textile city in Chennai and plans to set up a handloom museum in Mahabalipuram, near here, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Friday.

The museum would be set up at a cost of Rs 30 crore, he said while unveiling programmes to develop the textile sector.

Karur, Tiruppur and Kancheepuram would be converted into textile export hubs. Also, a design and incubation centre would be established at a cost of Rs 10 crore, he said.

"Our programmes and initiatives are aimed at achieving the $ 1 trillion economy by 2030. The government is taking steps to soon formulate a new integrated textile policy for the state," Stalin said while virtually inaugurating an international conference on technical textiles held here. The conference is being under the aegis of the Department of Textiles, government of Tamil Nadu, in partnership with Union Textile Ministry, and the CII.

"We are not only competing with different States in India but also with different countries. For Tamil Nadu to make an impact and be seen, the state government is establishing export hubs in Karur, Tirupur and Kancheepuram to increase the textile exports from the State," Stalin said.

Further, an action plan has been evolved to modernise the sector at an outlay of Rs 29.34 crore. The SIPCOT has acquired land for establishing a mega textile park on 1,500 acre land at Kumaralingapuram village, Virudhunagar district.

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The government would issue an order soon for providing for a wage hike of Rs 2,500 to all permanent workers of 6 cooperative spinning mills, he said.

Funds have been sanctioned to provide a 11 KW dedicated electrical power feederline for the benefit of three such mills.

"I am happy to know that 6 MoUs have been signed with American companies, Czech Republic, Japan and domestic companies in the field of technical textile production and textile processing at the conference," he said.

"You are aware that Tamil Nadu is a major contributor to India's growth in terms of education, economy, health, medicine, agriculture, exports and manpower. The State attracts everyone due to the conducive climate, peaceful environment, simple procedures for starting ventures besides skilled manpower," Stalin said.

The MoU exchanged was on recovery of chemicals from waste water in common effluent treatment, higher energy savings solutions for pumps applications in common effluent treatment plants, reduction of water consumption in the textile processing industry and pollution to the environment, production, and sales activities of meditech products and technical knowledge and investment of Japanese textile industries.

Next to agriculture, the textile sector provided the highest employment opportunities for people. "After the government declared the textile industry as a sunrise sector, there has been an increase in investments from the international and domestic companies, which is very encouraging," said Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu.

Tamil Nadu is now positioned third in attracting foreign investments, and in exports too, the Minister added The State is the first in the country to implement a zero-discharge liquid technology that has benefited the environment and industries too, Handloom and Textiles Minister R Gandhi said and announced that the sewage of Salem Corporation would be treated and used in the proposed dyeing units in Salem Textile Park.

Also, about Rs 5 crore has been allocated for R&D for treatment of effluents and salt disposal to ensure a pollution-free environment, said Gandhi.

Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) T M Anbarasan said many schemes were introduced for the overall development of the industry benefitting over 2,00,000 people. There is also a focus on sectors such as silk, embroidery, weaving, and tailoring to help them grow. Post the introduction of the three schemes in the recent past, over 2,291 youth have received grants of Rs 90.94 crores and bank loans worth Rs 363.76 crore have been sanctioned to entrepreneurs, he said.

It has been planned to achieve a market size of USD 40 billion and exports of USD 10 billion by 2024-25 with a total outlay of Rs 1,480 crore spread over four years under the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM), said Rajeev Saxena, joint secretary, Union Textile Ministry.

"Cloud computing, machine learning and 3D printing coupled with bio technological advances will change the way for the production of fibre, fabric and fashion. We want to capture this transformation and maintain our core position in the textile sector,” said Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, principal secretary, Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi Department, Tamil Nadu.

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