Krishna district in coastal Andhra Pradesh has emerged as a textile hub. In the last few years, a dozen companies have already made investments of about Rs 415 crores. More projects are in the offing. One reason is the proximity of the district to Guntur, which is a major source of raw material.

Krishna district is home to block printed cotton textiles called pedana kalamkari. The district is naturally divided into upland and delta areas and the upland areas are the favorite of textile companies. As on date, the largest investment made by any textile company in the district is that of NSL Textiles. The company has invested about Rs 120 crores in its state-of-the-art spinning mill at Veeravalli in Bapulapadu mandal and there are at least 10 other industries with an average investment of nearly Rs 35 crores but none of them is in the delta areas.

Krishna district is fast turning into a hub of cotton apparel and textile value-addition activity with fabric coming from several weavers throughout the country. At Pedana in the district skilled weavers and artisans have moved away from kalamkari work as they do not have money to invest for buying cloth.