Indias textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in Indian economy dating back several

centuries. Even today, textiles sector is one of the largest contributors to Indias exports with
approximately 13 per cent of total exports. The textiles industry is also labour intensive and is
one of the largest employers.
The textile industry has two broad segments. First, the unorganised sector consists of handloom,
handicrafts and sericulture, which are operated on a small scale and through traditional tools and
methods. The second is the organised sector consisting of spinning, apparel and garments
segment which apply modern machinery and techniques such as economies of scale.

The textile industry employs about 45 million people directly and 20 million people indirectly.
India's overall textile exports during FY 2015-16 stood at US$ 40 billion.

The Indian textiles industry is extremely varied, with the hand-spun and hand-woven textiles
sectors at one end of the spectrum, while the capital intensive sophisticated mills sector at the
other end of the spectrum. The decentralised power looms/ hosiery and knitting sector form the
largest component of the textiles sector. The close linkage of the textile industry to agriculture
(for raw materials such as cotton) and the ancient culture and traditions of the country in terms of
textiles make the Indian textiles sector unique in comparison to the industries of other countries.
The Indian textile industry has the capacity to produce a wide variety of products suitable to
different market segments, both within India and across the world.
Market Size
The Indian textiles industry, currently estimated at around US$ 120 billion, is expected to reach
US$ 230 billion by 2020. The Indian Textile Industry contributes approximately 2 per cent to
Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 10 per cent of manufacturing production and 14 per cent
to overall Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Indian khadi products sales increased by 33 per cent year-on-year to Rs 2,005 crore (US$ 311.31
million) in 2016-17 and is expected to exceed Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 776.33 million) sales target
for 2018-19, as per the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

The total area under cultivation of cotton in India is expected to increase by 7 per cent to 11.3
million hectares in 2017-18, on account of expectations of better returns from rising prices and
improved crop yields during the year 2016-17.

Indian exports of locally made retail and lifestyle products grew at a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent from 2013 to 2016, mainly led by bedding bath and home decor
products and textiles#. The Government of India targets textile and garment sector exports at
US$ 45 billion for 2017-18.
Investment
The textiles sector has witnessed a spurt in investment during the last five years. The industry
(including dyed and printed) attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth US$ 2.55 billion
during April 2000 to June 2017.
Some of the major investments in the Indian textiles industry are as follows:

Future Group is planning to open 80 new stores under its affordable fashion format,
Fashion at Big Bazaar (FBB), and is targeting sales of 230 million units of garments by
March 2018, which is expected to grow to 800 million units by 2021.
Raymond has partnered with Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to sell
Khadi-marked readymade garments and fabric in KVIC and Raymond outlets across
India.
Max Fashion, a part of Dubai based Landmark Group, plans to expand its sales network
to 400 stores in 120 cities by investing Rs 400 crore (US$ 60 million) in the next 4 years.

Government Initiatives
The Indian government has come up with a number of export promotion policies for the textiles
sector. It has also allowed 100 per cent FDI in the Indian textiles sector under the automatic
route.
Initiative will be taken into consideration by Government of India.

The Government has planned to connect as many as 5 crore (50 million) village women
to charkha (spinning wheel) in next 5 years with a view to provide them employment and
promote khadi and also, they inaugurated 60 khadi outlets which were renovated and re-
launched during the completion of KVIC s 60th anniversary and a khadi outlet.
The Textiles Ministry will organise 'Hastkala Sahyog Shivirs' in 421 handloom-
handicrafts clusters across the country which will benefit over 1.2 lakh weavers and
artisans.
The Gujarat government's decision to extend its textile policy by a year is set. It is
believes to attract Rs 5,000 crore (US$ 50 billion) of more investment in sectors across
the value chain. The government estimates addition till now of a million units of spindle
capacity in the spinning sector and setting up of over 1,000 units in technical textiles.

The key initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2017-18 to boost the textiles sector are listed
below:

Encourage new entrepreneurs to invest in sectors such as knitwear by increasing

allocation of funds to Mudra Bank from Rs 1,36,000 crore (US$ 20.4 billion) to Rs
2,44,000 crore (US$ 36.6 billion).
Upgrade labour skills by allocating Rs 2,200 crore (US$ 330 million)

Some of initiatives taken by the government to further promote the industry are as under:
 The Government of India plans to introduce a mega package for the powerloom sector,
which will include social welfare schemes, insurance cover, cluster development, and
upgradation of obsolete looms, along with tax benefits and marketing support, which is
expected to improve the status of power loom weavers in the country.
The Ministry of Textiles has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 20 e-
commerce companies, aimed at providing a platform to artisans and weavers in different
handloom and handicraft clusters across the country for selling their products directly to
the consumer.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs 8,835 crore (US$ 1.3 billion) in areas
such as textile parks, textile processing, machinery, carpet development and others, were
signed during the Vibrant Gujarat 2017 Summit.
The Union Minister for Textiles inaugurated Meghalayas first-ever apparel and garment
making centre to create employment opportunities in the region. The Union Minister for
Textiles also mentioned Meghalaya has been sanctioned Rs 32 crore (US$ 4.8 million)
for promotion of handlooms.
The Government of India has announced a slew of labour-friendly reforms aimed at
generating around 11.1 million jobs in apparel and made-ups sectors, and increasing
textile exports to US$ 32.8 billion and investment of Rs 80,630 crore (US$ 12.09 billion)
in the next three years.

Road Ahead
The future for the Indian textile industry looks promising, buoyed by both strong domestic
consumption as well as export demand. With consumerism and disposable income on the
rise, the retail sector has experienced a rapid growth in the past decade with the entry of several
international players like Marks & Spencer, Guess and Next into the Indian market. The apparel
market in India is estimated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.8 per
cent to reach US$ 180 billion by 2025.
High economic growth has resulted in higher disposable income. This has led to rise in demand
for products creating a huge domestic market. The domestic market for apparel and lifestyle
products, currently estimated at US$ 85 billion, is expected to reach US$ 160 billion by 2025.
The Indian cotton textile industry is expected to showcase a stable growth in FY2017-18,
supported by stable input prices, healthy capacity utilisation and steady domestic demand*.
Textile Sectors in India:
1. The Man-Made Fiber / Yarn and Powerloom Sector: This part of industry includes fiber
and filament yarn manufacturing units. The Power looms sector is decentralized and
plays a vital role in Indian Textiles Industry. It produces large variety of cloths to fulfill
different needs of the market. It is the largest manufacturer of fabric and produces a wide
variety of cloth. The sector contributes around 62% of the total cloth production in the
country and provides ample employment opportunities to 4.86 million people.

2. The Cotton Sector: Cotton is one of the major sources of employment and contributes in
export in promising manner. This sector provides huge employment opportunities to
around 50 million people related activities like Cultivation, Trade, and Processing.
Indias Cotton sector is second largest producer of cotton products in the world.

3. The Handloom Sector: The handloom sector plays a very important role in the countrys
economy. It is the second largest sector in terms of employment, next only to agriculture.
This sector accounts for about 13% of the total cloth produced in the country (excluding
wool, silk and Khadi).

4. The Woolen Sector: The Woolen Textile sector is an Organized and Decentralized
Sector. The major part of the industry is rural based. India is the 7th largest producer of
wool, and has 1.8% share in total world production. The share of apparel grade is 5%,
carpet grade is 85%, and coarse grade is 10% of the total production of raw wool. The
Industry is highly dependent on import of raw wool material, due to inadequate
production.

5. The Jute Sector: Jute Sector plays very important role in Indian Textile Industry. Jute is
called Golden fiber and after cotton it is the cheapest fiber available. Indian Jute Industry
is the largest producer of raw jute and jute products in the world. India is the second
largest exporter of jute goods in world.

6. The Sericulture and Silk Sector: The Silk industry has a unique position in India, and
plays important role in Textile Industry and Export. India is the 2nd largest producer of
silk in world and contributes 18% of the total world raw silk production. In India Silk is
available with varieties such as, Mulberry, Eri, Tasar, and Muga. Sericulture plays vital
role in cottage industry in the country. It is the most labor-intensive sector that combines
both Agriculture and Industry.

7. The Handicraft Sector:The Indian handicrafts industry is highly labor intensive, cottage
based and decentralized industry. It plays a significant & important role in the countrys
economy. It provides employment to a vast segment of craft persons in rural & semi urban areas
and generates substantial foreign exchange for the country, while preserving its cultural
heritage.
Cotton textiles[edit]
In the early years, the cotton textile industry was concentrated in the cotton growing belt of
Maharashtra and Gujarat. Availability of raw materials, market, transport, labour, moist climate and
other factors contributed to localisation. In the early twentieth century, this industry played a huge
role in Bombay's economy but soon declined after independence.[8] While spinning continues to be
centralised in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, weaving is highly decentralised. As of 30
September 2013, there are 1962 cotton textile mills in India,[9] of which about 80% are in the private
sector and the rest in the public and cooperative sector. Apart from these, there are several
thousand small factories with four to ten looms.
India exports yarn to Japan, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Nepal, Singapore, Sri
Lanka and other countries. India has the second-largest installed capacity of spindles in the world,
with 43.13 million spindles (30 March 2011)[10] after China. Although India has a large share in world
trade of cotton yarn, its trade in garments is only 4% of the world's total. This is due to the
incompetency of local spinning and weaving mills to process yarn. There exist some large factories,
but most of the production is fragmented in small units, which cater to the local market. This
mismatch is a major drawback for the industry. As a result, many of the spinners export yarn while
apparel and garment manufacturers have to import fabric. The power supply is erratic and
machinery is outdated and needs to be upgraded. Other problems include low output of labour and
stiff competition with the synthetic fibre industry.[11]

Jute textiles[edit]
India is the largest producer of raw jute and jute goods and the second largest exporter after
Bangladesh. There were about 80 jute mills in India in 2010-11, most of which are located in West
Bengal, mainly along the banks of the Hooghly River, in a narrow belt (98 km long and 3 km wide).
Factors responsible for their location in the Hooghly basin are: inexpensive water transport, good
network of railways, roadways and waterways to facilitate movement of raw material to mills,
abundant water supply, cheap labour from neighbouring states.
In 2010-2011 the jute industry was supporting 0.37 million workers directly and another 400,000
small and marginal farmers who were engaged in the cultivation of jute.
Challenges faced by the industry include stiff competition in the international market from synthetic
substitutes and from other countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Philippines, Egypt and Thailand.
However, the internal demand has been on the rise due to Government policy of mandatory use of
jute packaging. To stimulate demand, the products need to be diversified. In 2005, the National Jute
Policy[12] was formulated with the objective of improving quality, increasing productivity and
enhancing the yield of the crop.
8.