Agartala, May 20 (TIWN / IANS) The central government has decided to set up textiles park in all the eight northeastern states and would provide funds generously for the purpose, union textiles minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar said here on Wednesday.

"To boost the textiles industry in the country and northeast India, the government is keen to establish textiles park in all the eight northeastern states," the minister said after laying foundation stone of a ready-made textiles manufacturing unit in Agartala.

He said: "If any entrepreneur or any industrialists would invest Rs.100 crore for the proposed textiles park, the government would provide at least Rs.40 crore to the project."

The textile ministry has been providing Rs.18 crore for setting up of one ready-made garment manufacturing unit called 'Apparel and Garment Making Centre' (AGMC) in each of the eight northeastern states. 

The ministry would also provide financial assistance to run the unit after commissioning of the AGMC.

The works to establish the AGMC have already started in five northeastern states -- Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

On Wednesday, the foundation for the Tripura unit was jointly laid by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and Gangwar.

"Each AGMC would provide employment to 1,200 to 1,500 people in the respective states," Gangwar said.

"Handicrafts of northeastern states have immense global market. This sector must be developed. 

"Sericulture is another viable sector which also has tremendous scope to provide more and more employment and to earn foreign exchange," Gangwar said.

The textiles ministry recently announced a Rs.427-crore scheme to promote geo-technical textiles in northeast India and that would be helpful in stabilising roads, addressing the problem of landslides and preserving water bodies.

Geo-technical textiles provide the functional advantages of higher endurance and durability in roads, embankments and infrastructure projects. 

Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, while appreciating the geo-technical textiles scheme, said his government is keen to implement the scheme in the state.

"We are now studying the geo-technical textiles scheme. We can use the new technique in making roads and other purposes. My government is also ready to implement the other schemes of the textiles ministry," Sarkar said.

Textiles ministry secretary S.K. Panda said his ministry has also sanctioned Rs.3.41 crore to set up a silk processing and printing unit in Tripura.

"The proposed unit would help Tripura to increase the silk-based productions by more than three times of the current productions," said Panda, who was the chief secretary of Tripura before joining the textiles ministry in August last year.

"Tripura's silk quality, production, sincerity and efficiencies of people involved with this sector can follow the other northeastern states, specially Assam," he added.