The textile industry in India wants the excise duty on manmade fiber and filament to be halved and changes in labor laws. Also on its agenda is better access to major markets like the US and EU via trade pacts. In India cotton consumption dominates with 65 per cent and manmade fiber and filament at 35 per cent. The industry feels the main reason for low consumption of manmade fibers in India is the higher cost which could be as a result of the excise duty. So a reduction of the excise duty would be a step forward.

The textile sector is confident of providing jobs to unskilled laborers and women as well, even in rural areas, if support is given in the form of higher market access, changes in labor laws and opportunities to scale up. The textile industry is the country’s second largest employer after agriculture. It contributes nearly 14 per cent to industrial production and four per cent to GDP.

The industry’s export earnings grew by 5.4 per cent in 2014-15. The textile industry has two broad segments. First, the unorganised sector consists of handloom, handicrafts and sericulture, which are operated on a small scale and through traditional tools and methods. The second is the organised sector consisting of spinning, apparel and garment segment which apply modern machinery and techniques such as economies of scale.