Government Initiatives

The Indian government has come up with several export promotion policies for the textiles sector. It has also allowed 100% FDI in the sector under the automatic route.

Other initiatives taken by the Government of India are:

• In November 2022, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. M. K. Stalin announced the establishment of a "Textile City" in Chennai as part of Tamil Nadu's strategy to become a major participant in the global textile industry. Additionally, the state will build a 1,500-acre textile park in the Virudhunagar district, for which SIPCOT will buy land.
• In June 2022, Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food and Public Distribution, Mr. Piyush Goyal, stated that the Indian government wants to establish 75 textile hubs, similar to Tiruppur, which will greatly increase employment opportunities while promoting the export of textile products and ensuring the use of sustainable technology.
• In June 2022, Amazon India signed a MoU with the Manipur Handloom & Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited (MHHDCL), a Government of Manipur entity, to encourage the development of weavers and artisans throughout the state.
• In June 2022, the Kerala government announced that it would provide free training to 1,975 candidates under the SAMARTH scheme of the textile industry.
• The Sustainable Textiles for Sustainable Development (SusTex) project by the United Nations Climate Change entity enhances the employment and working circumstances of textile artisans while promoting the sustainable production and use of environmentally friendly textiles.
• In May 2022, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr. Narayan Rane, inaugurated the Center of Excellence for Khadi (CoEK) at NIFT, Delhi. In order to produce innovative fabrics and apparel that will meet the needs of both domestic and foreign consumers, the CoEK will seek to introduce the newest designs and adopt procedures that adhere to international standards.
• In April 2022, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Mr. Piyush Goyal, said that new Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreements with Australia and the UAE would open infinite opportunities for textiles and handloom. Indian textile exports to Australia and the UAE would now face zero duties, and he expressed confidence that soon Europe, Canada, the UK and GCC countries would also welcome Indian textile exports at zero duty.
• In March 2022, the Ministry of Textiles, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), organized a day-long International Conference on Technical Textiles with the theme: Creating the Winning Leap in Technical Textiles.
• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) achieved turnover of Rs. 1.15 lakh crore (US$ 14.68 billion) in FY22, a growth of 20.54% YoY, and more than any Indian FMCG company managed in FY22.
• The Government of India has earmarked a corpus of Rs. 1,000 crore (US$ 127.72 million) dedicated for research and development of the technical textiles sector.
• In March 2022, the Bihar government submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Textiles to set up a mega hub under the PM Mitra Mega Textile Park.
• In March 2022, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Mr. MK Stalin announced that the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) will set up a mega textile park in the Virudhunagar district.
• Under the Union Budget 2022-23, the total allocation for the textile sector was Rs. 12,382 crore (US$ 1.62 billion). Out of this, Rs.133.83 crore (US$ 17.5 million) is for the Textile Cluster Development Scheme, Rs. 100 crore (US$ 13.07 million) for the National Technical Textiles Mission, and Rs. 15 crore (US$ 1.96 million) each for PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel parks scheme and the PLI Scheme.
• For export of handloom products globally, the Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC) is participating in various international fairs/events with handloom exporters/weavers to sell their handloom products in the international markets under NHDP.
• The Ministry of Textiles has also been implementing the Handloom Marketing Assistance (HMA), a component of National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) all across India. HMA provides a marketing platform to the handloom weavers/agencies to sell their products directly to the consumers and develop and promote the marketing channel through organizing expos/events in domestic as well as export markets.
• In November 2021, Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food and Public Distribution, Mr. Piyush Goyal, stated the desire to target a 3-5x time increase in the export of technical textiles worth US$ 10 billion over the next three years.
• The Indian government has notified uniform goods and services tax rate at 12% on man-made fabrics (MMF), MMF yarns, MMF fabrics and apparel, which came into effect from January 1, 2022.
• Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food and Public Distribution, Mr. Piyush Goyal, announced a mega handloom cluster in Manipur and a handloom and handicraft village at Moirang in Bishnupur. The mega cluster will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs. 30 crore (US$ 4.03 million) under the National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP).