Government Initiatives

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

Other initiatives taken by the Government of India are:

• The Central government aims to achieve Rs. 86,680 crore (US$ 10 billion) in technical textile exports under the National Technical Textiles Mission, launched in FY21 and extended until FY26 with a financial outlay of Rs. 1,480 crore (US$ 170.74 million). India's technical textile exports range between Rs. 17,336 crore (US$ 2 billion) and Rs. 26,004 crore (US$ 3 billion).
• The Prime Minister Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme aims to establish 7 world-class mega textile parks with state-of-the-art infrastructure, plug-and-play facilities, and a fully integrated textile value chain with a total investment of US$ 541.82 million (Rs. 4,445 crore) for the years up to 2027–28 was approved by the government. These parks are expected to attract investments worth Rs. 85,370 crore (US$ 10 billion).
• Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles, Ms. Rachna Shah, announced that India's technical textiles market has great potential, with a notable growth rate of 10% and ranking as the 5th largest in the world.
• A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Textiles Committee under the Ministry of Textiles, the Government e Marketplace (GeM) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) to promote upcycled products made from textile waste and scrap.
• Mr. Piyush Goyal also discussed the roadmap to achieve the target of US$ 250 billion in textiles production and US$ 100 billion in exports by 2030.
• In July 2023, 43 new implementing partners were empanelled under the SAMARTH scheme and an additional target of training around 75,000 beneficiaries has been allocated.
• 1,83,844 beneficiaries trained across 1,880 centres under Samarth.
• In June 2023, the Government approved R&D projects worth US$ 7.4 million (Rs. 61.09 crore) in the textile sector.
• In February 2023, the union government approved 1,000 acres for setting up a textile park in Lucknow.
• In February 2023, according to the Union Budget 2023-24, the total allocation for the textile sector was Rs. 4,389.24 crore (US$ 536.4 million). Out of this, Rs. 900 crore (US$ 109.99 million) is for Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), Rs. 450 crore (US$ 54.99 million) for National Technical Textiles Mission, and Rs. 60 crore (US$ 7.33 million) for Integrated Processing Development Scheme.
• In December 2022, a total of 44 R&D projects were started, and 23 of them were successfully completed. 9777 people were trained in a variety of activities relating to the silk industry.
• In December 2022, a total of US$ 75.74 million (Rs. 621.41 crore) in subsidies was distributed in 3,159 cases under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, with special campaigns held in significant clusters to settle backlog cases.
• In December 2022, a total of 73,919 people (SC: 18,194, ST: 8,877, and Women: 64,352) have received training, out of which 38,823 have received placement under SAMARTH.
• The establishment of 7 (seven) PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks with a total investment of US$ 541.82 million (Rs. 4,445 crore) for the years up to 2027–28 was approved by the government.
• Under the National Technical Textile Mission (NTTM), 74 research projects for speciality fibre and technical textiles valued at US$ 28.27 million (Rs. 232 crore) were approved. 31 new HSN codes have been developed in this space.
• 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 Tamil Nadu government included a Sustainable Cotton Cultivation Mission in its agriculture budget by allocating US$ 1.86 million (Rs 15.32 crore) to enhance the yield of organic cotton.
• 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.
• 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).