The textile industry is the second largest employment provider of the nation, next only to agriculture, which provides jobs predominantly to rural masses, especially women, to the tune of 110 million, and the Government has set a vision of increasing the textile business size from the current level of USD 162 billion to USD 350 billion and the exports from the level of USD 35 billion to USD 100 billion by 2030.
The NDA Government led by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, having set a vision of 5Fs (Farm–Fibre–Factory–Fashion–Foreign), has been taking several pathbreaking initiatives to enhance global competitiveness by addressing the structural issues.
The Union Budget 2025-26 has again made a few important announcements specific to textiles and several other announcements that would greatly benefit the textiles and clothing industry.
In a press release issued here today, Dr. S.K. Sundararaman, Chairman The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA) which has represented the entire textile value chain in South India since 1933, has welcomed the budget and stated that the various announcements made in the budget would enhance the global competitiveness of the textile industry.
He has stated that cotton is the growth engine and strength of the Indian textile industry, accounting for around 80% of the textile exports. the industry has been demanding a Cotton Technology Mission supporting high-yielding seed technology, the adoption of global best agronomy practices, the production of clean cotton, and branding Indian cotton to benefit the farmers and the industry.
The SIMA chairman has claimed that the predominantly MSME nature of the textile industry would benefit from the upward revision of MSME sales turnover criteria by two times the investment limit by 2.5 times and thereby become eligible to avail the various fiscal and non-fiscal supports extended for the MSMEs.
The announcement of Rs.600 crores to improve productivity and sustainability of cotton, promote ELS cotton, and bestow science & technology to cotton farmers on a mission mode approach, giving a thrust for high-yielding seeds to align with 5F Vision of Hon’ble PM, is a step in the right direction, says SIMA Chairman.
He has stated that the country was producing around 25 lakh bales of extra-long staple (ELS) cotton during the 1980s when the crop was remunerative to the farmers and is currently producing only around 5 lakh bales, and the industry has the potential to consume 30 lakh bales. He added that the industry is importing around 12 lakh bales of ELS cotton having 32.5 mm and above, and the textile business size of the ELS cotton value chain is estimated at around Rs. 60,000 crores per year, giving direct jobs to around 12 lakh people.
He has pointed out that the value addition in the ELS cotton textile product is around ten times and has huge potential to boost export if the home-grown ELS cotton is made available.