Metiaburj to be displayed as hub for readymade kids garment

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government will showcase Metiaburj as a hub for readymade kids garment in a big way at the Bengal Global Business Summit that will be held in January 2018 as part of its strategy to give a big boost to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.

"Bengal is the leader when it comes to readymade garments in the country. Metiaburj in the port area contributes to the bulk of readymade garments across the city but the area is still unorganised. We have made elaborate plans to organise them and are trying to facilitate the traders so that they can export their produces to foreign countries," a senior official of the state MSME said.

MSME and textiles have always been the focus area of Bengal in all its business summits including BGBS which will be in its fourth year. The MSME sector under the leadership of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has noticed a remarkable turnaround in the last six years.

A senior official of MSME department said BGBS will hold special sessions on Textile and Apparel and Engineering. "We are involving Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and also Eastern India Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Federation (EIGMEF) in a big way in the two-day summit. We are hopeful that this will give the much needed boost to the textile sector," Rajiva Sinha, Principal Secretary of MSME department said. Sources in the MSME department said in the last BGBS, the MSME department had signed an agreement with AEPC and adopted Metiaburj as a cluster. The outcome of this agreement will also be highlighted at this year's BGBS.

Sinha had held a number of meetings in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata involving the three leading bodies of apparel exporters across India as they offer invaluable assistance to Indian exporters as well as importers/international buyers who choose India as their the preferred sourcing destination for garments.

According to the West Bengal Industry Report 2015, the state has a sizeable garments industry generating annually about Rs 720 crore in the wage income. It's virtually an iceberg, with a small registered and formal portion and a vast unregistered and submerged informal portion.

The informal part does not only cover tiny, family-based units, it also includes manufacturers operating several machines which technically qualify for registration under the Factories Act.

The MSME department is developing 11 parks in PPP model. The parks would provide industry land, infrastructure, single window clearance, environment compliant infra, power apart from a host of subsides (capital, land, stamp duty, labour, power etc) under the Bengal Textile Policy, 2013. The proposed parks will be showcased at the event and the investors will be urged to invest in these parks.

In case of the Engineering sector, the department is collaborating with Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) and Indian Foundry Association (IFA) and at the state level, the government is involving Howrah Foundry Association and Howrah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"Our aim is to provide technological support to those in the Engineering sector and we are planning to join hands with Ranchi based National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology (NIFFT) and National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad for this purpose," a senior official said.

Rs 2,35,290.03 crore of business announcements, business document exchanges, expressions of interest and investment proposals were received at the Bengal Global Business Summit 2017.