Textile exports from many Indian states have reduced in the last five years. From New Delhi, textile exports halved from FY15 to FY19. Punjab and Andhra Pradesh saw a contraction of 20 per cent and 16 per cent respectively. Overall exports from the textile sector rose 2.2 per cent while overall textile imports shot up 13.1 per cent between FY15 and FY19. India’s top five textile export destinations are the US, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, the UK, while the top five import destinations are China, the US, Australia, Bangladesh, and Taiwan. However, to curtail imports of textiles and to boost domestic production, India has doubled the basic customs duty from ten per cent to 20 per cent on 383 apparel HS lines.

The textile industry is a labor-intensive industry. So its growth plays a vital role in job creation. The textile industry is also one of the industries that have a major participation from the informal sector as well. Hence a fall in the industry causes a loss of jobs from the informal sector that is hardly measured.

India will help top textile companies achieve sufficient size and scale to cater to worldwide demand. The aim is to create a few global champions especially in the areas of manmade fiber, technical textiles, apparel, fabrics and made-ups because of the substantial value addition in these sectors.