Weak policy fabric

India's textile sector needs wider reforms

The Union government’s proposal to make the use of a range of Indian-made “technical textiles” — textiles used in industrial applications — mandatory for ministries and public agencies offers another example of the paucity of fresh ideas for reviving the economy. In seeking to artificially create a market for a category of textiles, the plan is reminiscent of successive Jute Control Orders, which made it compulsory for industry to use jute packaging for sugar, cement, fertiliser, and some other commodities. Under the current proposal, seven ministries involved in major infrastructure projects, such as the railways and road transport, will lead