India eyes $2.5bn fresh investment in textiles sector


The ‘Textile Week’ opened at the Expo 2020 India Pavilion with the country looking at a fresh investment of ₹19,000 crore ($2.5 billion) in the sector, which would be key to a Self-reliant India and becoming a preferred sourcing partner in textiles.

The ‘Textile Week’ kicked off yesterday (November 26) at the India Pavilion in Expo2020 with the country looking at a fresh investment of ₹19,000 crore ($2.5 billion) in the sector, which would be key to a ‘Self-reliant India’ and becoming a preferred global sourcing partner in textiles. 
 
The textile industry will showcase India’s rich cultural heritage during the week and deliberate on key initiatives taken by the government to create an ecosystem for the country to become a preferred sourcing partner for textile and clothing, stated Minister of State for Textile & Railways Darshana V Jardosh in a video message.
 
"The present-day Indian textiles not only reflect the glittering past but also cater to the demands of modern times. Indian textile industry is one of the largest in the world, with a large raw material base and manufacturing strength across the value chain," she noted.
 
She pointed out that to further improve the industrial ecosystem, scale, and integrated value chain, the textiles sector is a key sector that will help in building an ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ or Self-Reliant India.”
 
The textiles sector contributes around 2-3% to Indian GDP, 7% to Industrial output, 12% to the export earnings of India, around 11-12% to total merchandize export and around 4.5 crore people are directly engaged with the textiles sector.
 
Addressing the gathering, Vijoy Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Textile, said: "Despite a decline in total trade of textile & apparel sector during 2020-21, growth in textile and apparel trade reflected an encouraging trend in 2021-22 (April-Sept) with an increase of 69%, and the same stood at $24 billion."
 
"India has a huge potential to grow in the textiles and apparel sector. The focus is on skills up-gradation, financial assistance, and integrating the sector with the latest technology," stated Singh.
 
The PLI scheme worth ₹10,683 ($1.45 billion), launched by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Mr. Piyush Goyal, will help boost manufacturing, increase exports and attract investments into the sector. 
 
India has also launched Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks (PM MITRA) scheme with an outlay of ₹4,445 crore ($600 billion) to build seven mega textile parks. 
 
These parks will create a modern, integrated large-scale, world-class industrial infrastructure including plug ‘n’ play facilities. 
 
National Technical Textiles Mission Scheme approved in February 2020 with a four-year implementation period from 2020-21 to 2023-24, is aimed at improving the penetration of technical textiles and strengthening India’s position as a global leader in technical textiles.
 
Outlining the government initiatives, Jay Karan Singh, Trade Advisor, Ministry of Textiles, said: "The aim is to attract fresh investment of ₹19,000 crore and create an additional 0.75 million direct jobs in the textile sector in coming years. 
 
"The PLI Scheme will also aim to increase the turnover of the textile industry by a whopping ₹3 trillion ($40 billion) over the next five years," he added.