India’s textile and apparel sector registered Rs 325,339 crore in total exports in FY26, supported by target-oriented policy adjustments aimed at capturing a $350 billion global market footprint by 2030. To increase scale across synthetic and technical textiles, the Ministry of Textiles lowered the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) entry investment threshold to Rs 50 crore for smaller manufacturers and extended the application window through March 2026.
Exporters are simultaneously leveraging extended tax rebates under the RoSCTL scheme and temporary cotton import duty exemptions to cushion margin pressures from raw material price movements. Guided by the 5F framework, structural interventions are integrating domestic supply networks to establish long-term export resilience, states Giriraj Singh, Union Textiles Minister.
Operational bottlenecks and strategic expansion
Despite positive momentum, manufacturers face headwinds from logistics disruptions in West Asia and raw material price volatility. In response, apparel manufacturing hubs like Tiruppur and emerging production clusters in Madhya Pradesh are adopting automated equipment and expanding man-made fiber capacity to narrow productivity gaps with overseas competitors in Vietnam and Bangladesh. The recent deployment of the RELIEF logistics framework has helped mitigate transit delays, enabling garment exporters to secure order books across key European and North American trade corridors.
Sector overview and structural growth drivers
Operational since the nineteenth century, the Indian textile sector produces cotton, man-made yarns, and readymade apparel for domestic consumption and export to over 100 countries. Employing over 5.3 crore workers, the industry targets a $350 billion market valuation by 2030, driven by $100 billion in projected export revenues and ongoing cluster modernizations.
