PM Modi calls India’s textile sector a major engine of job creation

New Delhi, Jan 20:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday highlighted the rise of India’s textile sector from a legacy industry to a powerful job-creating and people-centric engine of growth, embodying the true spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

PM Modi referred to an article written by Union Minister Giriraj Singh, which underlines the importance of the Centre’s PLI schemes and new Free Trade Agreements, which are creating the next wave of employment.

India’s textile resurgence is rooted in strong domestic demand and rising consumption. With a population of over 140 crore, India is one of the world’s most resilient textile markets. The domestic textile market grew from about R8.4 lakh crore to an estimated Rs 13 lakh crore in just five years, the minister has pointed out.

He further stated that consumption trends reinforce this momentum as per capita textile consumption has almost doubled over the past decade, from around Rs 3,000 in 2014-15 to over Rs 6,000 in 2024-25 and is projected to double again to Rs 12,000 by 2030.

Exports have mirrored this demand-led expansion. Textile and apparel exports rose from Rs 2.49 lakh crore in 2019-20, the year Covid struck, to nearly Rs 3.5 lakh crore in 2024-25, marking around 28 per cent growth in the post-Covid period. This sharp rebound underscores India’s ability to scale manufacturing quickly as global demand returns and, crucially, to convert export growth into employment across the textile value chain, the Minister added.

The minister also highlighted the importance of the PM MITRA Park scheme. The Government expects investments to the tune of Rs. 18,500 crore to flow into the textiles sector under the proposals that have been received under this scheme, which aims to boost production, employment and exports.

With a view to develop integrated large-scale and modern industrial infrastructure facility for the entire value-chain of the textile industry, the Government has approved the setting up of seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks in greenfield and brownfield sites with an outlay of Rs. 4,445 crore for the period 2021-22 to 2027-28.

The Government has finalised 7 sites, viz. Tamil Nadu (Virudhnagar), Telangana (Warangal), Gujarat (Navsari), Karnataka (Kalaburagi), Madhya Pradesh (Dhar), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow) and Maharashtra (Amravati) for setting up PM MITRA Parks.

Once completed, it is expected that each PM MITRA Park will attract about Rs. 10,000 crore investment and generate about 3 lakh (both direct and indirect) employment opportunities.

--IANS