Key facts
- India aims to double its textile market size to ₹33 lakh crore by FY2031.
- The current textile market size is ₹16 lakh crore.
- The sector is projected to create approximately 2 crore additional jobs in the next three years.
- Government initiatives aim to increase handloom weavers' annual income to ₹5 lakh.
- India's technical textiles market has grown to $25 billion.
- India has 18 free trade agreements covering 56 countries.
India aims to significantly expand its textile market, targeting a size of ₹33 lakh crore by FY2031, effectively doubling its current value. This ambitious goal was announced by Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh, who highlighted the sector's substantial growth in employment and its potential for further job creation.
Singh stated that employment in the textile and apparel sector has already risen to 5.3 crore in 2024-25, a considerable increase from 2.8 crore in 2014. The sector is anticipated to generate an additional 2 crore jobs within the next three years. To support this growth, the government is implementing measures to boost the annual income of handloom weavers to ₹5 lakh through training, raw material access, design technology, and market facilitation.
The domestic textile market has seen robust growth, expanding to over ₹16 lakh crore from approximately ₹6 lakh crore in 2014-15. The minister also emphasized the role of India's expanding network of free trade agreements (FTAs), which now covers 56 countries through 18 pacts, creating new avenues for exports and investments.
Furthermore, India is emerging as a significant player in technical textiles, with the market growing to $25 billion from $6 billion, supported by initiatives like the National Technical Textiles Mission. The government has also allocated substantial funds, with ₹2,000 crore invested in the handloom sector and over ₹1,335 crore in the handicrafts sector.