Every Indian textile product carries a story far beyond fabric, a story of courage, confidence and quiet transformation. It reflects a woman stepping into the workforce with dignity, a family finding stability through steady income, and a first-generation entrepreneur turning skill into self-reliance. Over the past 11 years, under the decisive and visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India’s textile sector has risen from a legacy industry to a powerful, job creating, people-centric engine of growth, embodying the true spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Demand, Scale and Exports: The Foundations of Growth
India’s textile resurgence is rooted in strong domestic demand and rising consumption. With a population of over 140 crore young, aspirational and increasingly both urban and rural India is one of the world’s most resilient textile markets. The scale of this transformation is evident in the numbers. India’s domestic textile market grew from about ₹8.4 lakh crore to an estimated ₹13 lakh crore in just five years. Consumption trends reinforce this momentum: per capita textile consumption has almost doubled over the past decade, from around ₹3,000 in 2014-15 to over ₹6,000 in 2024-25 and is projected to double again to ₹12,000 by 2030. Exports have mirrored this demand-led expansion. Textile and apparel exports rose from ₹2.49 lakh crore in 2019-20, the year Covid struck, to nearly ₹3.5 lakh crore in 2024-25, marking around 28% growth in the post-Covid period. This sharp rebound underscores India’s ability to scale manufacturing quickly as global demand returns and, crucially, to convert export growth into employment across the textile value chain.
Textiles Powering India’s Workforce Revival
Textiles continue to be the backbone of India’s employment economy. Today, the sector stands as the country’s 2nd largest employer after agriculture, directly supporting around 5.6 crore people by the end of 2023-24, a workforce that has nearly doubled since 2014. The post-Covid phase has been especially transformative: export-led growth since 2020 has translated into an estimated 1.5 crore new jobs in the organised sector alone. When the extensive unorganised ecosystem that sustains the industry is accounted for, the employment footprint is far larger, underscoring textiles as one of India’s most inclusive and resilient engines of livelihoods.
Capacity Creation and the Sewing Machine Effect
Behind this export resilience lies a decisive shift towards capacity-led growth. The textiles sector’s expansion over the past decade has been powered by an unsung hero: the sewing machine. More than a tool, the sewing machine has become a catalyst for growth, proving that sometimes the biggest employment and industrial transformations begin with the smallest machines. Since Covid alone, over 1.8 crore sewing machines have been imported into India’s production ecosystem. In 2024-25, imports reached a record 61 lakh machines, the highest ever. Each machine supports employment for approximately 1.7 workers across the fabric-to-garment value chain. As a result, the post-pandemic surge in sewing machine imports has translated into the creation of over 3 crore jobs across the textile sector, firmly anchoring capacity expansion to large-scale employment growth.
This surge in capacity explains why Indian factories were ready when global buyers returned, able to deliver higher output, shorter lead times and stronger compliance. Importantly, job creation does not stop at modern factories. As units upgrade, older machines move into the grey market and are reused by smaller enterprises, tailoring units and home-based businesses, multiplying employment at the grassroots. Women, rural youth and first-generation entrepreneurs remain at the centre of this decentralised expansion. To recognise and capture the full scale of this employment especially in the unorganised segment, the government is advancing the District Led Textiles Transformation (DLTT) initiative. By formalising the workforce and improving data capture, DLTT aims to ensure that employment growth is not only large in numbers, but also supported by skills, social security and long-term stability.
From Factories to Artisans: Jobs for All
Our vision for 2030 is unambiguous: to position textiles as one of India’s strongest engines of employment and inclusive growth. Fast fashion is emerging as a powerful new driver. Valued at USD 20 billion today, the global fast fashion market is expected to reach USD 60 billion by 2030. Its demand for agile manufacturing and rapid turnaround positions India favourably and is expected to create an additional 40 lakh jobs over the next 4 years.
PM MITRA Parks which alone has the potential to create over 20 lakh jobs, while the PLI Scheme is set to generate more than 3 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities through new factories and fresh investments. The wider textile value chain is expected to create around 50 lakh additional livelihoods. The new Free Trade Agreements are increasing textile exports and jobs, with the upcoming India-EU FTA set to open new markets, boost competitiveness, and create the next wave of employment.
Alongside industrial growth, India’s handloom and handicraft sector continues to anchor sustainable employment. Supporting over 65 lakh artisans and weavers, the sector aligns naturally with global demand for environmentally responsible products. Exports currently stand at around ₹50,000 crore, with a clear target to double to ₹1 lakh crore by 2032. Through focused schemes and market access interventions, nearly 20 lakh additional artisans and weavers are expected to be integrated into the workforce by 2030.
Textiles Powering Livelihoods Post-Covid
India’s textile story is ultimately about jobs-large, diverse and inclusive. Since Covid, the decade from 2020 to 2030 is set to redefine Indian textiles and is set to generate more than 5 crore new jobs across organised and unorganised sectors. It is creating first-generation entrepreneurs, stable jobs for women, and opportunities for rural youth. As India moves towards Viksit Bharat 2047, textiles will remain central to building an Atmanirbhar, globally competitive economy where modern capacity, skilled workers, and resilient demand come together to deliver growth with dignity.
Courtesy PIB Srinagar
(The Author is the Union Minister of Textiles)
