Focus on raising cotton processing: Maharashtra CM

Maharashtra chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis recently said it would be ensured that all raw cotton grown by farmers in the next five years is processed at spinning mills in the state. Only 30 per cent of cotton grown in the state is processed now. 

The state has made provisions to infuse higher seed capital and incentives for textile entrepreneurs, he said. He was speaking at a textile conclave in Mumbai. The market would be strengthened through the government’s ‘farm to fashion’ policy, he said.

The decision to keep electricity tariff rates low for textile traders has made the sector, especially the handloom industry, more competitive, media reports from the state quoted the chief minister as saying.

Since the last textile policy for 2012-17 was introduced, the state government has attracted investments worth Rs 20,000 crore and generated three lakh jobs, Fadnavis said.

In the next five years, the state hopes to double the investment, targeting to cross Rs 36,000 crore, he added.