India Ranks Among Top Textile Exporters With 4% Global Share

New Delhi: India is ranked among the top textile exporting countries in the world with a share of approximately 4 per cent of global textiles and apparel exports, according to information tabled in Parliament on Friday

The export of Textiles and Apparel, including Handicrafts, increased by 7 per cent in April-December 2024 compared with the same period of the previous year with the US, the EU and the UK accounting for a 53 per cent share in total exports in FY 2023-24, Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The government is implementing various schemes to promote Indian textiles. The major initiatives include PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme to create a modern, integrated, world-class textile infrastructure; Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme focusing on MMF Fabric, MMF Apparel and Technical Textiles to boost large-scale manufacturing and enhancing competitiveness; National Technical Textiles Mission focusing on Research Innovation and Development, Promotion and Market Development; SAMARTH - Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector with the objective providing demand-driven, placement oriented, skilling programme. Silk Samagra-2 for comprehensive development of the sericulture value chain and the National Handloom Development Programme for end-to-end support for the handloom sector have also helped to promote exports.

Besides, the Ministry of Textiles is also implementing the National Handicrafts Development Programme and Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme for the promotion of handicrafts, the minister said.

The Indian textiles industry is one of the largest in the world with a large raw material base of natural fibre, including cotton, silk, wool, and jute as well as manmade fibre and manufacturing strength across the value chain from fibre to fabric to garments, he pointed out.

With a view to ensuring a consistent supply of cotton in the country and having a sustained interest of farmers in cotton cultivation, the Government of India is declaring a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of cotton every year.