Lok Sabha Question No. 278 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-02
Subject: Textile Industry
Ministry: TEXTILES
Asked by: Thiru Dr. S Jagathratchakan

## TEXTILE INDUSTRY

## 278. SHRI S JAGATHRATCHAKAN:

Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री be pleased to state :

(a) whether the Government has noticed that the ICRA's downgrade of the outlook for the Indian apparel export industry from stable to negative, along with the projected decline in revenues and margins and if so, the measures being taken to address this situation;

(b) the details of steps being taken by the Government to safeguard the overall textile industry in India, particularly small and medium exporters from the adverse effects of US tariffs; and

(c) the measures being implemented to provide relief to India's major textile export hubs in Tamil Nadu, such  as  Tiruppur,  Karur,  Erode,  Coimbatore  and  Salem,  which  are  highly  dependent  on  exports  and vulnerable to tariff shocks?

## उत्तर

## ANSWER वस्त्र राज्  य मंत्री ( श्री पबित्र मार्घेररटा ) THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES

## (SHRI PABITRA MARGHERITA)

(a) to (c): The  Ministry  is  regularly  monitoring  India's  export  of  Textile  &  Apparel  including Handicrafts to United States and other countries in the world and t tracking of the impact of US tariffs on key textile segment.  The details of export in Textile Sector from April to September, 2025  as stated below clearly reflects the stability in the export performance of the Sector during the current financial year  despite global challenges.

| India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   | India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   | India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   | India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   | India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   | India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   | India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   | India's Global Textile &Apparel Including Handicrafts Exports (Value in USD Million)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                                                                        | Export to USA                                                                          | Export to USA                                                                          | Export Rest of World                                                                   | to the                                                                                 | Global Export                                                                          | Global Export                                                                          |                                                                                        |
| Commodity                                                                              | Apr- Sept 2024                                                                         | Apr-Sept 2025                                                                          | Apr- Sept 2024                                                                         | Apr- Sept 2025                                                                         | Apr- Sept 2024                                                                         | Apr- Sept 2025                                                                         | % Growth                                                                               |
| TotalT&A including Handicrafts                                                         | 5,361.85                                                                               | 5,224.16                                                                               | 12,858.69                                                                              | 13,011.27                                                                              | 18,220.54                                                                              | 18,235.44                                                                              | 0.1%                                                                                   |

Source- DGCIS

India's  exports  of  Textiles  &  Apparel,  including  handicrafts,  stood  at  US$  18,235.44  million  during April-  September  2025,  registering  a  marginal  but  positive  growth  of  0.1%  over  the  corresponding period of the previous year (US$ 18,220.54 million).

Further, the export of Textiles & Apparel, including handicrafts from Tamil Nadu is as under:

| Commodity                      | April-Sep 2024April -Sep 2025%   |          | Growth   |
|--------------------------------|----------------------------------|----------|----------|
| Total T&Aincluding Handicrafts | 3,975.04                         | 4,078.06 | 2.6%     |

Source: DGCIS (Value in USD Million)

The total exports of Textiles & Apparel (incl handicrafts) from Tirupur, Karur, Erode, Coimbatore and Salem has  shown a growth of 11.4%  during the period Apr-Sep 2025 compared to corresponding period of previous year.

The Ministry is in regular consultation with exporters including MSMEs to assess the impact of US tariff on India's textiles & apparel export and other challenges. The Ministry   has convened two wide-ranging consultative meetings with large as well as Micro, Small and Medium (MSME) textile exporters from across the textile and apparel value chain at various levels.

The  Government  is  implementing  various  schemes/initiatives  to  boost  the  Indian  textile  and  apparel sector and enhance its competitiveness from Country and these steps are boosting the export from Country including Tamil Nadu (largest textile exporting state)  and it's main clusters.

(1)  The  major  schemes/initiatives  include  PM  Mega  Integrated  Textile  Regions  and  Apparel  (PM MITRA)  Parks  Scheme  to  create  a  modern,  integrated,  world  class  textile  infrastructure;  Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme focusing on MMF Fabric, MMF Apparel and Technical Textiles to boost large scale manufacturing and enhancing competitiveness; National Technical Textiles Mission focusing on Research Innovation & Development, Promotion and Market Development; SAMARTH - Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector with the objective providing demand driven, placement oriented, skilling program; Silk Samagra-2 for comprehensive development of sericulture value chain; National Handloom Development Program for end to end support for handloom sector. Ministry of Textiles is also  implementing  National  Handicrafts  Development  Programme  and  Comprehensive  Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme for promotion of handicrafts

(2)   Export  Obligation  (EO)  period  under  the  Advance  Authorisation  Scheme for inputs  falling  under mandatory Quality Control Order (QCO) in the textile sector has been extended from six (6) months to eighteen (18) months.

(3)  The  Government  has  brought  key  revisions  to  the  Production  Linked  Incentive  (PLI)  Scheme  for MMF  Apparel,  MMF  Fabrics,  and  products  of  Technical  Textiles  to  address  industry  challenges, enhance ease of doing business, encourage fresh investments in the sector etc. The Revisions include Expansion  of  Eligible  Products,  relaxation  from  setting  up  new  companies,  reduction  in  minimum threshold of investment and incremental turnover Criteria. The revision aims to reduce entry barriers and financial thresholds, enabling faster execution.

(4) The Government has exempted  import duty on cotton  under HS 5201 upto 31.12.2025 for reducing the  input  material  costs  for  the  textile  industry,  ensuring  adequate  supply  and  improving  export competitiveness and enhancing overall industry efficiency. This step  is expected to very useful for the cotton based   textile exporting Industry of Tamil Nadu particularly from Tiruppur.

(5)  The  Government has rationalized the GST rate across the textile value chain to remove structural anomalies, reduce costs, boost demand, support exports and sustain jobs.

(6)  The  Government  is  also  implementing  Rebate  of  State  and  Central  Taxes  and  Levies  (RoSCTL) scheme for Apparel/Garments and Made-ups to enhance competitiveness by adopting principle of zerorated  exports.  Further,  textiles  products  not  covered  under  the  RoSCTL  scheme  are  covered  under Remissions  of  Duties  and  Taxes  on  Exported  Products  (RoDTEP)  along  with  other  products.   Under RoSCTL, more than 15,000 exporters have benefitted from rebates on embedded taxes during FY 202425.

(7) The RoDTEP Scheme has also been extended till 31.03.2026 to provide extended support to the large as well as small scale exporters.

(8)  India  has  signed  15  Free  Trade  Agreements  (FTAs),  including  the India-UK  Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) which was signed on 24 July, 2025. These FTAs aim to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, simplify procedures, and address structural issues to make Indian Exporters more competitive in partner markets.

(9)  Further,  the  Ministry  has  formulated  a  comprehensive  40-country  market  diversification  strategy, identifying  high-potential  global  destinations  for  Indian  textile  exports.  A  structured  and  targeted outreach  in  these  markets-supported  by  coordinated  efforts  of  Export  Promotion  Councils  (EPCs), industry delegations, and Indian Missions abroad-aims to reduce market concentration risks, enhance India's export share, and establish a more resilient and sustainable global footprint for the Indian textile industry.

(10)  The  Government  has  approved  Credit  Guarantee  Scheme  for  Exporters  (CGSE)  for  providing 100% credit guarantee coverage by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) for extending additional credit facilities upto Rs.20,000 crore to eligible exporters, including MSMEs. The Scheme aims to enhance the global competitiveness of Indian exporters and support diversification into new and emerging markets.

(11)  The  Government  has  approved  the  Export  Promotion  Mission  (EPM)  which  is  anchored  in  a collaborative  framework  involving  the  Department  of  Commerce,  Ministry  of  MSME,  Ministry  of Finance,  and  other  key  stakeholders  including  Financial  Institutions,  Export  Promotion  Councils, Commodity Boards, industry associations, and state governments.

The NIRYAT PROTSAHAN component of the scheme focuses on improving access to affordable trade finance  for  MSMEs  through  a  range  of  instruments  such  as  interest  subvention,  export  factoring, collateral  guarantees,  credit  cards  for  e-commerce  exporters,  and  credit  enhancement  support  for diversification into new markets.

The NIRYAT DISHA component focuses on non-financial enablers that enhance market readiness and competitiveness, including export quality and compliance support, assistance for international branding, packaging, and participation in trade fairs, export warehousing and logistics, inland transport reimbursements, and trade intelligence and capacity-building initiatives. EPM consolidates key export support schemes such as the Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) and Market Access Initiative (MAI), aligning them with contemporary trade needs.

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