District may attract investments worth ₹1,000 crore

Leading fabric manufacturers Reliance Industries, Raymond Ltd., Siyaram Silk Mills, Wadia Group and Valji Group have expressed interest in investing in garment stitching units in Solapur district of Maharashtra to capitalise on the demand for ready-made uniforms from schools and corporates, an industry official said.

“They all are keen to invest in Solapur,” said Amit Kumar Jain, joint secretary, Solapur Garment Manufacturers’ Association. The association recently organised a fabric manufacturers’ fair to attract investments.

“Of late, Solapur has been gaining prominence as a sourcing hub for ready-made school and corporate uniforms. We expect Solapur to attract investments of ₹1,000 crore by 2022,” he said.

Mafatlal Industries had already started a stitching unit with 200 machines to make ready-made uniforms in Solapur, he added.

“Reliance, Raymond, Siyaram Silk Mills, Wadia Group, Valji Group and Mumbai-based Qmax World, Rupam Exports Amber Home, which make shirts for the European market, are next in the line,” he added.

Making uniforms

Currently, Solapur has about 400 stitching units making school and corporate uniforms. The association’s target is to scale it up to 2,000 units by 2022.

According to S.R. Gaikwad, Director of Textiles, Government of India, Solapur has the potential to become the uniform hub of the country.

“The Central government will extend all support in achieving the goal set by the Maharashtra (government),” Mr. Gaikwad said.

H.K.Govindraj, Principal Secretary, Textiles Department, Maharashtra said, “Maharashtra government has chalked out plans for cluster parks and textile parks for Solapur which will help the Solapur industry to achieve its goal.”