Indian textile sector challenges
Textile sector is key component of global and Indian economy.
India’s textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy, dating back to several centuries. The industry is extremely varied, with hand-spun and hand-woven textiles sectors at one end of the spectrum, with the capital-intensive sophisticated mills sector at the other end. The fundamental strength of the textile industry in India is its strong production base of a wide range of fibre/yarns from natural fibres like cotton, jute, silk and wool, to synthetic/man-made fibres like polyester, viscose, nylon and acrylic.
As a matter of fact, The textile sector is one of the critical sectors of the Indian economy, accounting for more than two per cent of the total GDP and more than 12 per cent of the manufacturing sector gross domestic product (GDP). The sector is also the second largest provider of employment in India, after agriculture. It provides employment to an estimated 45 million people directly and to another 60 million indirectly through allied activities. Not only is the textile sector highly labour intensive, it also employs unskilled and semi-skilled labour force and is also an important source of employment for women.
But since sometimes the textile sector in India has been facing challenges. Domestic production has turned sluggish in recent months. While exports have suffered owing to preferential tariff treatment towards countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, cheap imports from China and some other countries in certain segments are hurting the domestic industry.
The government is committed to increasing textile exports from India, from the current USD 44.4 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years. This will require addressing the challenges faced by the sector to ensure an efficient and dynamic textile sector.
One hopes we give due to our textile sector .