National textiles ministers’ meet in Guwahati to shape $350bn industry plan

Guwahati, Jan 4: The National Conference of Textiles Ministers is set to be held in Guwahati from January 8 to 9 under the theme “India’s Textiles: Weaving Growth, Heritage & Innovation”, an official said on Sunday.

The two-day conference is being organised by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, in collaboration with the Assam government.

The meet aims to bring together Union and State Ministers of Textiles along with senior officials from the Centre and the states to deliberate on a coordinated national strategy for positioning India as a global textile manufacturing hub.

The deliberations are aligned with the national vision of building a USD 350 billion textile industry and achieving USD 100 billion in textile exports by 2030, the official said.

The inaugural session will be attended by Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Union Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita, among others.

The conference will feature multiple sessions focusing on infrastructure and investment, export expansion, competitiveness, raw materials and fibres, and new frontiers such as technical textiles, research and development. Special emphasis will also be laid on revitalising traditional textiles, including handloom and handicrafts, for modern domestic and global markets.

Delegates are expected to share best practices, challenges, and policy suggestions aimed at strengthening the textile value chain across regions and districts.

As part of the conference, a conclave titled “Strengthening and Empowering the Textiles Sector of the North-Eastern Region of India” will be held on the first day.

The conclave will focus on silk, handloom and bamboo-based textiles, promotion of women-led enterprises, and branding “Textiles from North-East”, with the objective of unlocking the region’s unique textile strengths and integrating them with national and global value chains.

PTI