Latest News | Bihar Set to Become Hub of Textile, Leather Industry: Shahnawaz Hussain

New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) Bihar is set to become a hub of the textile and leather industry soon with the launch of a new policy to attract investment and boost the sector, State Industries Minister Shahnawaz Hussain said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, he said the Bihar Textile and Leather Policy-2022 -- launched by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during an Investors' Meet on Wednesday -- will change the "fate" of the state, as it will open new doors for the establishment of production units in the sector, generate huge employment opportunities and check migration of skilled workers.

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The policy -- formulated after nine months of extensive consultations with the stakeholders, including industry bodies -- will boost "a vast chain of" micro, small, medium, large, and mega industries, and help attract domestic and foreign investments, the minister said.

"A large number of industry players have already evinced their interest in setting up leather and textile units in the state. This can be gauged by the fact that about 3,000 industry players were present when the policy was launched," he told reporters.

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The minister said Bihar is moving towards "a new era of industrialisation" with the creation of a favourable atmosphere in the state under the leadership of chief minister Kumar.

"It's a new Bihar where the law and order situation is very good. The infrastructure is good. There is a 24X7 power supply. There is no dearth of land for setting up industrial units in the state," Hussain said.

The new policy is "competitively" advantageous over all the states of the country, with Bihar having "ample potential and plenty of opportunities" available for investors to set up textile, garment and leather units in the state, he added.

"Being one of the highest populated states of the country, with a population of around 14 crore, the state itself is a huge market base," he said, adding "anybody investing in Bihar would be catering to a population of 55 crore".

For the investors, the minister said, Bihar would be an ideal place for manufacturing, sale and export of textile and leather products, with the state's proximity to the countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, the minister said.

The state is well connected across different parts of the country through its large road, rail and air connectivity, he noted.

The minister said the majority of skilled and semi-skilled workers in the textile industries hail from Bihar.

"They want to come back and work in their home state. They had to face a lot of problems during the COVID pandemic," he said.

Listing various steps being taken to promote investments in Bihar, the minister said the state is making "rapid strides" to forge ahead on the path of sustainable industrialisation and economic development.

"Bihar has already become a hub of ethanol production. Work is being done to expand the food processing industry in the state. Bihar is now on its way to becoming a hub of the textile and leather industry with the launch of the new policy," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)