Apparel

With rising per capita income, presently at $2,350, India boasts the second-largest working population with a median age of 28 years. The textile industry in India, thus, gains a pivotal role in knitting the tapestry of dynamism and growth of the sector with about a 4.5% share in the global textile and apparel trade. With a diverse range of fabrics and intrinsic craftsmanship, the textile sector offers a wealth of opportunities. India possesses the capability to manufacture the entire value chain, and its products are exported to more than 100 countries. The sector provides employment to over 45 Mn people and produces about 22,000 Mn pieces of garments per year, with the market size projected to reach $350 Bn by 2030, from the current $174 Bn. With transformative changes in the textile sector, the government has also launched the PM MITRA Park Scheme with an outlay of INR 4,445 Cr to create an integrated textiles value chain from spinning to manufacturing at a single location. In line with the growth roadmap, the Indian textile market currently ranks fifth globally, and the government is actively working to accelerate this growth to a rate of 15-20% over the next five years. Moreover, the sector acts as a crucial link between the agriculture and industrial sectors, supporting the cultivation of cotton, silk, and other natural fibres and thus bridging the gap.

Recently, the government of India has also taken up initiatives to enhance cotton production. Kasturi Cotton, launched by the Ministry of Textiles, is a first-of-its-kind branding, traceability, and certification exercise carried out jointly by the Government of India, trade bodies, and industry to promote Indian cotton. Stakeholders across the supply chain, including farmers, ginning units, spinning mills, processing houses, weaving units, garmenting units, home textile manufacturers, and even retailers and brands, will be involved in a collaborative effort to promote and enhance the value of Indian cotton across the domestic and overseas markets. The government has also taken key initiatives, like the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme, to promote the production of MMF apparel, MMF fabrics, and technical textile products in the country.  With a view to enhancing the skills of the workforce in the textile sector, the Samarth Scheme has been formulated under a broad skilling policy framework with the objective of providing opportunities for sustainable livelihood.