India’s textile and apparel export ecosystem reached Rs 3.25 lakh crore ($38.8 billion) in FY26, driven by a 4.5 per cent CAGR since FY20. Provisional data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) reveals an increasingly concentrated manufacturing landscape, with 548 exporting districts participating in global trade. Tamil Nadu’s knitwear capital, Tiruppur, emerged as the leading district hub, generating Rs 38,677 crore in direct overseas shipments. Gautam Buddha Nagar followed with Rs 21,095 crore, while Bengaluru Urban logged Rs 16,205 crore.

Policy measures targeting MMF and duty relief

While shipments expanded across 100 international destinations, headline export growth remained modest at 1.8 per cent Y-o-Y amid volatile raw material costs and shifting Western order volumes. To protect manufacturing margins, the government extended duty drawback programs RoDTEP and RoSCTL through September 2026, alongside targeted customs exemptions on raw cotton and man-made fiber (MMF) inputs like PTA and MEG.

Scaling regional manufacturing efficiency through policy support allows cluster hubs to absorb global pricing pressures while expanding order allocations, notes Giriraj Singh, Union Minister of Textiles.

National trade infrastructure and cluster sourcing profile

The Indian textile export framework encompasses raw fiber, spun yarn, woven fabrics, readymade garments, and handicrafts. Spanning major production clusters across Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, the sector targets higher-value MMF apparel and technical textiles to accelerate export growth beyond Rs 3.25 lakh crore under strategic market diversification initiatives.