Piyush Goyal, the new textiles minister, has set an ambitious target of scaling up the industry’s capacity by 10 times, amid indications that the government is planning more steps to boost investment and employment in the sector
He has asked the team of officers in the ministry to prepare a detailed action plan for each segment — ranging from fibres and garments to handloom and handicraft, Man-made fibre along with technical textiles and handloom that have been identified as key thrust areas.
Currently, the size of the textiles industry is estimated at around $140 billion (over Rs 10 lakh crore), with apparel accounting for over half the share. Textiles’ share in India’s GDP is estimated at around 2.3% and is the largest employer, employing about 45 million workers.
The government is hoping that a series of steps, including the extension of Rebate of State and Central Taxes & Levies (RoSCTL) will provide clarity to exporters when they negotiate.
Steps such as Mudra loans for startups to buy cotton-plucking machines for renting to farmers are proposed in a bid to create jobs and income for small entrepreneurs.
At the same time, the minister has asked his team to focus on improving the quality of handloom and handicrafts and standardising it, given that there is a vast potential in a growing market such as India, apart from the exports market.