Big Ambitions, Strong Reforms, & One Major Hurdle

Imbued with a can-do spirit, Indian textile and apparel companies are now focusing more heavily on issues like quality, innovation, sustainability, and creating more awareness about their brands globally, explains Ashwin Chandran.

India’s textile and apparel sector can play a pivotal role in the country’s growth and development, and by extension, in the success of signature initiatives of the government including ‘Make in India’, has always been a given.

The textile and apparel arena already accounts for 2 per cent of India’s GDP and is one of the biggest generators of jobs and livelihoods in the world’s most populous nation. India is also one of the largest exporters of textile and apparel products in the world.

An indication of the confidence in the growth potential of the India’s textile and apparel sector is best exemplified through the government setting a target of creating a $250 billion domestic textile and apparel industry and achieve textile and apparel exports of $100 billion by 2030. To put these figures into context, the size of the domestic textile and apparel industry was around $180 billion in the last financial year. Our exports of textile and apparel items in the previous fiscal year was nearly $38 billion.

As these numbers would have demonstrated, the scale of our ambitions on both the domestic and export fronts are high. It is befitting a country which is currently the world’s fastest growing large economy and aspires to attain the status of a developed nation (Viksit Bharat) by 2047.

But let me assure you that these numbers – a nearly 39 per cent increase in the size of the domestic textile and apparel industry and a more than doubling of our exports of textile and apparel exports – over the next 5 years are not impossible to achieve. Provided all stakeholders work together, united in the common mission of making India’s textile and apparel industry a much bigger global powerhouse than what it is today.

Where does this optimism stem from? Let me discuss the reasons one by one.

The government’s steadfast commitment to the growth and development of India’s textile and apparel industry would rank No. 1 in this connection. The multiple initiatives being taken by the government to improve the ease of doing business, boost the development of global quality infrastructure, increase market access for Indian companies globally through free trade agreements (FTAs), and policy measures being undertaken to make India’s textile and apparel industry more productive and globally competitive stand testimony to this fact.

The landmark GST reformsannounced in September 2025 – for which we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, the Textiles Minister, the GST Council, and all concerned officials – will prove a gamechanger for the Indian textile and apparel sector. Considering that the GST 2.0 has eliminated duty inversion to ease cash flow and working capital, ensured fibre neutrality with Man-Made Fibre having the same GST rate as cotton, and eased registration and compliance procedures to benefit small businesses.

Moreover, textile and apparel items priced up to Rs 2,500 now being charged a 5 per cent GST would make these products more affordable for customers thereby driving consumption and by extension contribute to the growth of the sector. Earlier, the 5 per cent GST rate was only applicable for textile and apparel items priced up to Rs 1,000.

The expanded coverage of the recently announced PLI Scheme 2.0 following the addition of 8 new HSN (Harmonized System of Nomenclature) codes for MMF (Man-made Fibre) Apparel and 9 new HSN codes for MMF Fabrics would also provide tremendous impetus to the MMF segment in India. The move would spur the production of high value MMF apparel and fabrics in India.

The flexibility allowed under the new PLI Scheme for Textiles where units could now be set up within an existing company would greatly improve the ease of doing business. The announcements pertaining to the lowering of the investment thresholds and the revision in the turnover-linked incentive mechanism in the new PLI Scheme are worth their weight in gold.

The establishment of the PM-MITRA parks, the setting up of the National Technical Textiles Mission, and the enhanced focus on research and developmentin the textile and apparel sector can contribute immensely to India’s textile and apparel industry being able to attain its highest potential. Significantly, domestic and international companies setting up facilities in the PM-MITRA parks would also lead to the creation of more jobs and livelihood opportunities for our youths which is also a huge positive from a social perspective.

For the benefit of lakhs of cotton growing farmers, the Union Budget for the financial year 2025-26 has announced a ‘Mission for Cotton Productivity’. “This 5-year mission will facilitate significant improvements in productivity and sustainability of cotton farming, and promote extra-long staple cotton varieties. The best of science & technology support will be provided to farmers. Aligned with our integrated 5F vision for the textile sector, this will help in increasing incomes of the farmers, and ensure a steady supply of quality cotton for rejuvenating India’s traditional textile sector,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her Budget speech.

The Mission for Cotton Productivity could contribute in a major way to the growth of India’s textile and apparel sector

Considering that cotton is one of the most important commercial crops cultivated in India, lies at the heart of the country’s textile ecosystem, and is a source of livelihood for millions of farmers and those engaged in related activities, the Mission for Cotton Productivity could contribute in a major way to the growth of India’s textile and apparel sector.

The FTAs already signed by India, and those on the anvil such as that with the European Union, would open new opportunities for our textile and apparel exporters and provide them with a level-playing field so that they can compete more effectively for market share against peers from other countries. These trade deals would help India become a more agile, diversified, and resilient player in the global trading system, and to an extent reduce our dependence on the US market.

The other factor which gives me confidence about India being able to create a $250 billion domestic textile and apparel industry and achieve textile and apparel exports of $100 billion by 2030 is the evident zeal of local industry players to step up their act so that the country can emerge as a much larger force in the textile and apparel sector worldwide.

Imbued with a can-do spirit, Indian textile and apparel companies are now focusing more heavily on issues like quality, innovation, sustainability, and creating more awareness about their brands globallyso that they can take maximum advantage of the growth opportunities in the textile and apparel sector worldwide. Gone are the days of wanting to play safe. Indian textile and apparel companies now want to conquer the world, and that is excellent from the perspective of our national ambitions for the sector.

About the author

Ashwin Chandran is the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI). A distinguished textile industry leader, Chandran is also Chairman and Managing Director of Precot, one of the leading cotton mills in India which operates units in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. A former Chairman of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), Chandran, moreover, is a member of the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL). Chandran holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Textile Technology of UMIST, UK, and, also, a Post Graduate degree in Management from the University of Illinois, US.