Garment Industry in India

India is the 5th largest producer of technical textiles in the whole world with a market size of nearly $22 billion, which we hope to build up to $300 billion when we turn 100 by 2047.

The Indian textile industry is one of the largest in the world with a massive raw material and textiles manufacturing base. Indian economy is largely dependent on the textile manufacturing and trade in addition to other major industries. About 27% of the foreign exchange earnings are on account of export of textiles and clothing alone.

 The textiles and clothing sector contributes about 14% to the industrial production and 3% to the gross domestic product of the country. Around 8% of the total excise revenue collection is contributed by the textile industry.

 So much so, the textile industry accounts for as large as 21% of the total employment generated in the economy. Around 35 million people are directly employed in the textile manufacturing activities. Indirect employment including the manpower engaged in agricultural based raw-material production like cotton and related trade and handling could be stated to be around another 60 million.

The Indian textile industry operates in both organized high scale and fragmented low scale structure. At one end of the spectrum, the traditional handspun located mostly in rural areas operates and on the other is the largely urban-based capital – intensive sector.

Besides these two spectra, there is also a growing intermediate segment consisting of decentralized small scale power loom units dispersed mostly in rural and semi-urban areas all over the country.

India is the second-largest country in terms of enjoying yarn-spinning capacity in the world after China, accounting for roughly 20 percent of the world’s spindle capacity.

 India is also the third largest producer of cotton, accounting for 15 percent of the global cotton crop. Likewise, India has the largest number of looms in place to weave fabrics, representing 64 percent of the world’s installed looms.

Indian home textiles and furnishing industry continues to grow despite several challenges. Exports to Europe and the EU, which make 80% of India’s market for these categories, are stagnant at this point. However, the domestic market continues to grow at 15% per annum.

It is estimated that the world market for garments is currently at 350 billion US dollars a year.

The apparel export industry in India has also seen a positive growth in global garment export share. This growth is expected to continue for the next six months. In addition, Indian garment exports are in massive demand in the European Union and U.S. It is also estimated that the number of Indian textile industries will increase to five percent by the end of the year.

The garment industry is a key contributor to India's GDP. It accounts for nearly 13% percent of the country's GDP.

The sector also contributes to the overall Index of Industrial Production. However, India's textile industries are not competitive because of high wages. They also contribute to the country's trade deficit. In addition, it is estimated that the garment industry in India could achieve a 15% market share by the end of 2023.