India’s Textile Sector:
The Union Minister of Textiles held an in-depth review of initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Textiles for giving a boost to the textiles sector.
- Textiles & garments industry is labour intensive sector that employs 45 mn people in India is second only to the agriculture sector in terms of employment.
- India’s textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy, and is a storehouse and carrier of traditional skills, heritage and culture.
- It can be divided into two segments-
- The unorganised sector is small scale and uses traditional tools and methods. It consists of handloom, handicrafts and sericulture (production of silk).
- The organised sector uses modern machinery and techniques and consists of the spinning, apparel and garments segment.
- It contributes 2.3% to Indian Gross Domestic Product, 7% of Industrial Output, 12% to the export earnings of India and employs more than 21% of total employment.
- India is the 6th largest producer of Technical Textiles with 6% Global Share, largest producer of cotton & jute in the world.
- Technical textiles are functional fabrics that have applications across various industries including automobiles, civil engineering and construction, agriculture, healthcare, industrial safety, personal protection etc.
- India is also the second largest producer of silk in the world and 95% of the world’s hand woven fabric comes from India.
