Indian Textile & Apparel Industry 2022: Exports, Policy Shifts, and the Road to US$ 60 Billion
India’s domestic textile and apparel market recovered sharply in 2021-22, reaching an estimated US$ 99 billion, a 30% rebound from the prior year’s US$ 80 billion. The trajectory is clear: the market is projected to nearly double to US$ 190 billion by 2025-26, growing at a 10% CAGR. Exports are moving in the same direction, with 2021-22 estimates pegging India’s T&A exports at US$ 40 billion, a 28% jump, and the forecast target of US$ 60 billion by 2025-26 on a CAGR of 11%.
Where India Leads, and Where It Lags
India’s export profile reveals a split competitiveness story:
- Strengths: Global rank 1 in natural spun yarn (23% market share), rank 2 in home textiles (11% share), and rank 2 in total yarn exports
- Gaps: Apparel ranks 7th globally at just 3% share, knitted fabric sits at 10th, and MMF staple fibre at 9th
Garment exports declined at a 6% CAGR between 2015-16 and 2020-21. Made-ups, by contrast, grew at 3% CAGR over the same period, reaching US$ 7.4 billion. The divergence signals a value chain constraint: strong upstream, weak apparel conversion.
Policy Inflection Points
Two policy shifts are structurally significant. The PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs. 10,683 crore targets scale in MMF apparel and technical textiles, segments where India is globally underindexed. PM-MITRA, with seven mega textile parks planned, addresses the infrastructure fragmentation that has long capped garment manufacturing competitiveness. Together, these represent the most coordinated supply-side push the sector has seen.
On the cost side, capacity additions of 3.5 to 4 million spindles were announced in 2021, while the revocation of anti-dumping duty on Viscose Staple Fibre and the simultaneous 10% customs duty on cotton imports are reshaping fibre economics.
The full report covers the complete textile value chain across fibre, yarn, fabric, garments, made-ups, and technical textiles, benchmarked against global trade data and analysed through financial performance of India’s top 10 listed companies from H1 FY16 through H1 FY22.
