New Delhi: The government aims to double India’s textile market size, including domestic and exports, to ₹33 lakh crore by 2030-31 from the current ₹16 lakh crore, textiles minister Giriraj Singh said Thursday. Employment in the textile and apparel sector has grown significantly, rising to 5.3 crore in 2024-25 from 2.8 crore in 2014, Singh said, adding that the sector is expected to create nearly 2 crore additional jobs over the next three years.
Speaking at a press conference, Singh said the government is working to raise the annual income of handloom weavers to ₹5 lakh by providing support in the form of training, raw material, design technology and market access.
Neelam Shami Rao, secretary, ministry of textiles, said the sector plays a pivotal role in women’s empowerment by generating employment and fostering entrepreneurship.
The domestic textile market has grown to over ₹16 lakh crore from about ₹6 lakh crore in 2014-15.
Highlighting the role of trade agreements in boosting the sector, the minister noted that India’s network of free trade agreements (FTAs) has increased to 18 pacts spanning 56 countries, up from 10 agreements covering 19 countries in 2014, opening fresh opportunities for exports and investments.
The minister said despite global trade headwinds, India has successfully diversified its export markets and recorded export growth in 135 countries. He also highlighted India’s emergence as a major player in technical textiles, with the market growing to $25 billion from about $6 billion under the National Technical Textiles Mission.
The minister of state for textiles, Pabitra Margherita, said the government has invested ₹2,000 crore in the handloom sector and over ₹1,335 crore in the handicrafts sector, taking the total allocation to ₹3,335 crore.
