TN textile industry not looking to invest in any other State, says SIMA chief

The frequent power cuts eating into the businesses of the Tamil Nadu based yarn makers were looking at GCCI as a helping hand to build a yarn cluster in Gujarat and with Karnataka state inviting Coimbatore units to invest. SIMA chief T Rajkumar announced that Tamil Nadu textile industry in Tamil Nadu is not looking to invest elsewhere as the industrial climate in Tamil Nadu ranked on the top in many ways.

The sector, however, is fully geared for new investments and it is estimated that the industry might invest over Rs1.5 lakh crore over the next four years. The Tamil Nadu Government’s assurance about taking adequate steps to make the State’s textile policy more attractive to enhance competitiveness of the sector would take care of all the needs of the industry.

Though the State is facing certain challenges on raw material front and power in the short run, the powers that be are addressing such issues on a war footing.

All the same, he maintained that the call for the meet had nothing to do with the expression of interest given by industry bodies here to the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah during the recent visit to this region (to lure investors to consider investing in the neighbouring State), his assertion that it would be impossible for the textile industry to invest in Chamrajnagar, seemed to suggest otherwise.

The State, despite its dependence on cotton from upcountry markets, accounts for 47 per cent of yarn production. An industry-friendly textile policy would attract new investments in modernization and green-field projects, he said.

He did not deny the lull in investment climate in the past three years. Acute power shortage aggravated the industrial climate, resulting in new investments coming to a standstill for the last five years. Investments were further delayed due to the delay in announcing the new Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for the 12{+t}{+h} Plan Period.

The SIMA delegation met the Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and assured that they have no plans to invest in any other State.