Dhar's PM MITRA Park: How Madhya Pradesh Raced Ahead To Build India's Largest Textile Park

Within five months of getting formal approval for setting up a PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park, Madhya Pradesh's (MP) Dhar is set to have the project's foundation laid.

This stems from the promptness shown by Dr Mohan Yadav-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, which started with the introduction of the New Textile Policy 2025 in February.

Soon after the Union government's approval in April for the Rs 2,100 crore PM MITRA Park in Dhar, Chief Minister (CM) Yadav began meeting several textile manufacturers across the world to court investment.

He went from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Spain, and also held several meetings within the country, from textile hub Ludhiana to MP's capital Bhopal, thus bringing in textile investment in the state before the project took off.

"CM Yadav is personally driving its fast-track execution, determined to ensure that India’s largest PM MITRA Park also becomes its finest, an international benchmark for integrated excellence in textiles," an official associated with the park development told Swarajya.

As a result, the Dhar PM MITRA Park is becoming the first among the seven textile parks approved in April to take off. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on his birthday, on 17 September (just as this piece was being published).

What Is PM MITRA Park

The PM MITRA Park scheme was launched in 2021 with an outlay of Rs 4,445 crore for a period of seven years up to 2027-28 to make India's textile sector globally competitive.

Learning from competing economies, it was felt that there is a need to develop large-scale and integrated world-class industrial facilities for the textiles industry to build scale, reduce logistics costs and improve its competitiveness.

The state governments were asked to send proposals with a Preliminary Project Report for sites with a ready availability of a contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcel of at least 1,000 acres. From among the 17 proposals, seven sites were chosen.

These parks are envisioned to accommodate the complete value chain of the textile and apparel industry with an enhanced ecosystem to support industry and world-class infrastructure, including plug-and-play facilities.

Explaining the difference between generic industrial parks and PM MITRA parks, the official explained, "Unlike general estates that provide only basic plots and utilities, this park is designed as a fully integrated ecosystem that brings the entire textile value chain together in one location, from spinning and weaving to processing, garmenting, and even technical textiles. This clustering reduces logistics costs, improves scale, and creates a competitive environment for both domestic and global players."

"What sets it apart is the depth of infrastructure and the quality of facilities. It will offer common processing and environmental systems. These are features that most general industrial areas do not provide. Beyond industrial sheds, it is designed as a township with residential towers, working women's hostel, medical facilities, and child-care centres, so that the workforce and investors find a complete live-work environment on site," he added.

Once completed, each park is expected to lead to the creation of 1 lakh jobs directly and 2 lakh jobs indirectly. It was also estimated that each PM MITRA Park will attract an investment of at least Rs 10,000 crore, but the Dhar Park has already received investment proposals worth Rs 14,600 crore.

Why Was Dhar Chosen

The MP government had sent proposals for four sites in Ratlam, Dewas, Dhar and Katni, of which Dhar was chosen for its better connectivity for logistics as well as supply of raw cotton.

"Sites were chosen through a transparent Challenge Method by the Ministry of Textiles, assessing connectivity, land availability, industrial ecosystems, and policy support. On this basis, Madhya Pradesh secured India’s largest PM MITRA Park in Dhar," the official told Swarajya.

"Dhar sits at the confluence of the Indore Metropolitan Region, an established industrial and logistics hub, and the fertile Malwa cotton belt, offering both proximity to raw material supply and seamless integration with advanced industrial ecosystems," Apoorva Singh, a consultant associated with the project, told Swarajya.

Notably, the top cotton-producing districts of MP, like Khargone, Barwani, Khandwa, Burhanpur and Dhar itself, are situated around Dhar. Since PM MITRA Parks are being developed as a one-stop destination with the 5F vision of 'Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign', the cotton production around it adds to the park's advantage.

MP accounts for 43 per cent of India’s organic cotton production and contributes 24 per cent to the global cotton supply. The state's cotton production is concentrated in these southwestern districts due to the favourable black cotton soil and climate.

The state produces approximately 31,700 metric tons of cotton annually, earning it the title of the Cotton Capital of India. Additionally, MP produces 200 metric tons of silk, including mulberry silk.

Apart from this, Dhar also positioned itself as the largest textile park in the country, with an area spread over 2,158 acres in Bhainsola village of Badnawar tehsil, more than double the requirement for a PM MITRA Park.

The park location boasts proximity to major hubs. For instance, the Dhar textile park is located approximately 110 km from MP's economic capital, Indore, and 85 km from the Pithampur industrial cluster.

"With multimodal connectivity through Indore airport, expressways, and rail links, the district is positioned as a logistics-efficient node for domestic and export markets alike. Located within a high-growth consumption corridor, the region also benefits from a skilled workforce and ancillary industries," Singh added.

It also has a connectivity advantage with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway situated just 50 km away via Ratlam and connecting it to the nearest port, Hazira, in Gujarat at a distance of 452 km.

What It Offers

The park will have more than 200 industrial plots for large and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) units supported by world-class trunk infrastructure, including a 60-metre right-of-way approach road, underground cabling, logistics and warehousing hubs.

With a common effluent treatment plant (CETP), internet of things and supervising control and data acquisition monitoring utilities, a solar power plant, common utilities such as centralised steam boilers, and 81 plug-and-play factory units, the park will have a lot to offer to industries.

To make the park India’s most cost-effective textile hub, the state has finalised highly attractive charges: a land premium of Rs 1 per sq mt, development charges of Rs 120 per sq ft, along with power tariff at Rs 4.50 per unit and water tariff at Rs 25 per kilolitre.

The plan is to position Dhar as a multi-fibre, multi-product hub, extending well beyond cotton into man-made fibres, technical textiles, apparel, and value-added industries.

In Dhar, the industries were allowed to apply for land until 11 September. Moreover, the area being a tribal-dominated region will contribute to the development of marginalised groups as well.

The Site Development

The master layout and detailed project report were approved, and a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) was incorporated with Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC) designated as the implementing agency.

On the ground, beginning with site levelling and the construction of the park gate, all major external works have advanced rapidly. These include a six-lane approach road from State Highway 18, a 220 KV power transmission line, and a dedicated 20 MLD water supply scheme.

"With infrastructure works in full swing, tariff structures finalised, and strong investor response, the project today stands as a testimony to the preparedness of MP," the official said.

The state has also factored in extensive feedback from stakeholders at regional, national, and international levels, and this has been integrated into the design so that the park is aligned with the expectations of global investors.

"Operationalisation will happen in phases, with the first signs of development and activity expected to be visible in 2026. The full development of integrated industrial township of this scale will realistically take two to three years," the official added.

Moreover, industries and units will simultaneously start their plant construction, which can reduce the turnaround time for park operations, officials expect.

Groundwork Before Groundbreaking

Months before the formal approval of the project, CM Yadav started preparing for it, along with the preparations for the Global Investors Summit (GIS) 2025, which was held on 24 and 25 February.

When he went to Japan in January to invite investors to GIS, he also met the Chairman of Japan's largest apparel brand, Uniqlo, and shared about his eagerness to increase the company's cotton farming and textile production in India.

Then, in the second week of February, the MP government introduced the New Textile Policy, offering a range of financial and non-financial incentives to attract investment in the textile industry.

These incentives include an Investment Promotion Assistance in the form of 10 to 40 per cent of their investment in plant and machinery and a 5 to 7 per cent interest subsidy on loans for five years.

Under Infrastructure Development Assistance, companies will get up to Rs 1 crore for the development of electricity, water, and road infrastructure in industrial units.

Similarly, under Green Industrialisation Support, companies will get up to Rs 1 crore for waste management systems within industrial premises. Investors setting up an apparel training institute will receive financial assistance of up to Rs 50 lakh.

For the first time, the government is offering a 100 per cent refund of patent fees (up to Rs 5 lakh) as Patent Support and providing necessary assistance in the patent registration process.

Praising the policy, Principal Secretary of MP's Revenue Department, Vivek Porwal, said, "Provisions have been made for return of incentives, subsidy, additional incentives for training, FDI for investors. MP is the first state in the country where the return on investment in the textile sector is the highest."

The textile and apparel sector also found space in the GIS, as a session on it was organised on the second day of the event. It witnessed the participation of textile industries like Arvind Group, Aditya Birla Fashion and OBT Pvt Ltd.

The Resulting Investments

The efforts did not go in vain as the Dhar textile park had received investment interests worth Rs 10,000 crore by the time it was approved in April.

Thereafter, CM Yadav also toured Indian textile cities like Surat and Ludhiana to attract investments. In Ludhiana, he met officials of Vardhman Textiles and Trident Group to discuss investments in MP.

Dr Yadav also visited the Textile Merchants Group (TEXMAS) in Dubai and held discussions with the group's officials regarding investment in Madhya Pradesh. "The entrepreneurs here have expressed interest in connecting with MP in the field of textiles," he posted on X.

In the same week, he went to Spain. In Coruña, he met the Inditex leadership team to explore investment and collaboration opportunities in MP’s textile sector. He briefed them about opportunities at the PM MITRA Park in Dhar and the state’s new Industrial and Export Policies.

The next day, he held a roundtable meeting in Barcelona with leading European textile machinery manufacturers and experts. "The discussion focused extensively on the possibilities of establishing advanced production units in MP," he posted on X.

To conclude these visits in a fruitful manner, CM Yadav held a Roundtable Meet in Bhopal, where discussions took place with representatives, sourcing heads, and industrialists from over 15 top Apparel and Textile Brands from across the country and the world. MoUs with various companies were signed.

The final effort was an interactive session at New Delhi for the PM MITRA Park in Dhar, where investment proposals worth Rs 12,508 crore were received from 15 companies. "This will create more than 18,000 employment opportunities," Yadav asserted.

The major proposals came from Trident for Rs 4,500 crore, A B Cotspin Industries for Rs 1,300 crore, Arvind Mills for Rs 1,024 crore, Sanathan Textiles for Rs 1,000 crore, BSL members for Rs 1,000 crore, Best Corporation Tirupur for Rs 832 crore, Sharmanji Yarns for Rs 800 crore, RSVPM (LNJ Bhilwara) for Rs 700 crore and R R Jain Industries for Rs 550 crore.

What To Expect

With these developments, MP is optimistic about increasing its share in textile exports. Currently, MP accounts only for 4 per cent of India's textile exports, as per data provided by the Minister of State for Textiles, Pabitra Margherita.

"By integrating spinning, weaving, processing, garmenting, and technical textiles at one location, the park will sharply reduce logistics costs, making Madhya Pradesh’s textile products more competitive in global markets," the official said.

The state is already working with associations such as the Indian Cotton Federation, Southern India Mills’ Association, Tirupur Exporters’ Association, TEXMAS (Dubai), FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations), and the Apparel Export Promotion Council, along with global outreach to investors such as Inditex.

"With Madhya Pradesh’s newly announced Export Promotion Policy 2025, manufacturers in the park will benefit from targeted incentives, marketing support, and facilitation measures, strengthening their global footprint," he added.

The integrated design and strong policy backing are expected to help the Park emerge as a hub for high-value textiles and garments. The coming together of the entire textile value chain in one place will reduce costs, unlocking export potential.

Other PM MITRA Parks

While we see that Dhar Park has made commendable progress within months of getting formal approval, a few PM MITRA parks, which got a green light quite earlier, have not seen as much progress.

For instance, the foundation stones for two PM MITRA mega textile parks were laid in Amravati, Maharashtra and Navsari, Gujarat in July 2023.

While the Gujarat government received investment proposals worth Rs 2,845 crore in the textile sector at the end of that year, it is unclear how much of it was directed to the PM MITRA Park. Currently, the infrastructure development of the park is ongoing.

In Maharashtra's Amravati, tenders worth Rs 111 crore for infrastructure works have been awarded and execution has started. Additional works worth Rs 118 crore are in progress, suggesting that another park is also at the stage of infrastructure development.

Uttar Pradesh's PM MITRA Park at Lucknow-Hardoi was also launched in 2023, but it has secured investment proposals worth just Rs 700 crore at an investors’ meet held in March. The Detailed Project Report for the park is being prepared.

Karnataka's PM MITRA Park, to be built in Kalaburagi district, is also in a preliminary stage, as it has not received the environmental clearance yet. Kalyana Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCI) has urged Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre to expedite it.

Being a brownfield site, Telangana's Warangal PM MITRA Park has made considerable progress by attracting investment proposals worth Rs 3,862 crore so far, with KITEX, Youngone and Ganesha Ecosphere being major investors. Infrastructure development is also nearing completion.

The last PM MITRA Park to receive the Centre's approval was Virudhunagar, in Tamil Nadu, which will be developed in an area of 1,052 acres with the Centre's assistance of Rs 1,900 crore.

In light of these developments, it appears that the pace of development shown by Dhar is promising. Being the largest textile park, it carries the potential of transforming MP from a cotton producer to a textile-manufacturing state.

While the park is at a very preliminary stage now, the support and proactiveness shown by CM Yadav have ignited hopes of visible changes in a couple of years.