The textile industry is the second largest employment provider of the nation, next only to agriculture that provides jobs predominantly to rural masses especially women to the tune of 110 million and the Government has set a vision of increasing the textile business size from the current level of USD 162 billion to USD 350 billion and the exports from the level of USD 35 billion to USD 100 billion by 2030. The country’s second-largest employer, after agriculture, is the textile sector, which employs 110 million people mostly in rural areas, particularly women. The government has set aThe textile industry is the second largest employment provider of the nation, next only to agriculture that provides jobs predominantly to rural masses especially
women to the tune of 110 million and the Government has set a vision of increasing the textile business size from the current level of USD 162 billion to USD 350 billion and the exports from the level of USD 35 billion to USD 100 billion by 2030.
goal to increase By 2030, the textile industry will have grown from its present size of USD 162 billion to USD 350 billion, and its exports will have increased from USD 35 billion to USD 100 billion. With the 5Fs (Farm, Fibre, Factory, Fashion, and Foreign) as its vision, the NDA Government, led by Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has been implementing a number of ground-breaking measures to improve global competitiveness by tackling the structural problems. A few significant textile-specific announcements as well as a number of additional announcements that will significantly help the textile and apparel industries have been made in the Union Budget 2025–2026.
Dr. S K Sundararaman, Chairman of the Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), which has represented South India’s whole textile value chain since 1933, praised the budget in a news release released here today and said that the several The budget’s pronouncements would increase the textile industry’s ability to compete globally. According to him, the Indian textile industry has been calling for a Cotton Technology Mission to support high yielding seed technology, adoption of global best agronomy practices, production of clean cotton, and branding of Indian cotton to benefit farmers and the industry. Cotton is the industry’s growth engine and strength, accounting for about 80% of textile exports.
In line with the 5F Vision, the announcement of Rs. 600 crores would boost cotton production and sustainability, promote ELS cotton, and provide cotton farmers with the greatest science and technology through a mission-mode approach that encourages the use of high-yielding seeds. of the Honourable PM is a positive start, according to the Chairman of SIMA. According to him, the nation was generating about 25 lakh extra-long staple (ELS) cotton bales.The crop was profitable for farmers in the 1980s, but it is presently only producing about 5 lakh bales, even though the industry could use 30 lakh bales. He further mentioned that the sector imports about 12 lakh bales of ELS cotton with 32.5 mm and above, and the ELS cotton value chain’s textile industry is anticipated to generate around Rs. 60,000 crores in revenue annually, directly employing over 12 lakh people. He has noted that if domestic ELS cotton is made available, the value addition in the textile output is around 10 times and has enormous potential to increase exports.
In all of the top cotton-producing states, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Textiles have already been working on a Special Project on cotton that spans 15,000 hectares of land and focusses on High Density There is potential to boost cotton output by 30 to 50 percent, according to experimental experiments and planting and ELS productivity gains. He also mentioned that the Cotton Textile Export Promotion was started by the government.
Council (TEXPROCIL) jointly with other employers organisations has already launched “Kasturi Cotton Bharat” and the high quality Indian cotton is getting branded. “Kasturi Cotton Bharat” has already been launched by the Council (TEXPROCIL) in collaboration with other employers’ associations, and premium Indian cotton is being branded.
According to the SIMA Chairman, the textile industry’s predominately MSME character would benefit from an increase in the MSME sales turnover requirement by two times the investment limit by 2.5 times, making them eligible to receive the several financial and non-financial assistance programs offered to MSMEs. He also stated that imposing a 20% import charge on knitted textiles, or Rs. 115/-per kg, whichever is higher, will reduce the cheaper imports from China and other nations and raise the need for domestically produced fibres, yarns, and textiles. In order to help the industry, he has praised the extension of the customs tax exemption on shuttleless looms, knitting, non-woven, and clothing equipment, as well as their components, spares, and accessories, till 31.3.2027 from 31.3.2025.
The Chairman of SIMA further praised the Export Promotion Mission for helping simple access to export financing, assistance with cross-border factoring, and assistance with non-tariff measures like climate certifications and sustainability, which would significantly assist MSMEs in particular. He has praised the several other announcements like the MSMEs credit guarantee program and the new system for enabling MSMEs to continue receiving bank credit during times of stress, etc., skill development programs, strategies for infrastructure development encompassing the power sector, non-traditional energy, marine, etc.
Dr. Sundararaman expressed gratitude to the Honourable Prime Minister, Honourable Finance Minister, Honourable Agriculture Minister, Honourable Commerce and Industry Minister, and Honourable Textiles Minister for the several declarations that will improve worldwide competitiveness.