Textile Ministry

Carbon fibre will be produced by India in 2025-26: Textile minister Giriraj

Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Friday expressed confidence that the niche carbon fibre -- which is used in aerospace, civil engineering and defence as an alternative to metal -- will be produced by India in 2025-26. Currently, India does not produce any carbon fibre and relies completely on imports from countries such as the US, France, Japan and Germany. The European Union's proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tax on embedded carbon imports, is expected to kick in from 2026. "The coming days belong to Technical textiles in every sector... I am fully confident that in 2025-26 the niche carbon fibre product will also be with India," Singh told reporters here. The minister asserted that after the Narendra Modi-led government came to power, it has "balanced imports" in the hygiene sector. "Earlier we used to import diapers. Thanks to PM Modi for bringing production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme which has created excitement in the industry," Singh said. Earlier w

Govt to give focused attention to promote textiles' exports, says secy

The government will accord focused attention to promote India's textiles exports, which declined for the second year in a row in 2023-24, Textiles Secretary Rachna Shah said. The government has set an ambitious target to achieve USD 100 billion export for textile products by 2030. The cumulative exports of textiles and apparel from India during April 2023-March 2024 registered a de-growth of 3.24 per cent at USD 34.4 billion, as compared to USD 35.5 billion in April 2022-March 2023. In 2021-22, outward shipments of textiles and apparel were recorded at over USD 41 billion. "We had challenges like the Red Sea crisis making it slightly more challenging," Shah said on the decline in India's textiles exports in 2023-24. Although geo-political challenges remain, the textiles secretary said some exporters have reported improvement in their order books in the first quarter and the shipments are likely to improve in the coming months. "We will be looking at more focused attention on prod

Govt requests mills to stop raw jute imports on domestic oversupply

The Centre has advised mills to stop importing raw jute because of its oversupply in the domestic market and instructed jute importers to provide daily transaction reports in a prescribed format until December. The jute commissioner's office, representing the Union textile ministry, in a notice on Tuesday also recommended mills not to import jute of TD 4 to TD 8 variants (as per the old classification used in the trade) since these are adequately available within the country. "The variants make up 75 per cent of the total jute production and trade," said Sanjay Kajaria, former chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association. The current season's production stands at 91 lakh bales, with an opening stock of 23 lakh bales and 5 lakh bales of imported raw jute, resulting in a total estimated availability of 119 lakh bales. According 2021-22 data, jute imports amounted to 62,500 tonnes valued at Rs 449 crore, while exports reached 32,000 tonnes, valued at Rs 222 crore. The jute commissio

Govt invites fresh applications under PLI scheme for textiles till Aug 31

The Centre on Tuesday said it has decided to re-open the portal for inviting fresh applications from interested companies under the Production Linked Incentive scheme for Textiles till August 31, 2023 in view of requests from industry stakeholders. The Centre launched the PLI scheme with an approved outlay of Rs 10,683 crore to promote the production of man-made fibre (MMF) apparel, MMF fabrics and products of technical textiles in the country to enable the textiles industry to achieve size and scale and to become competitive. "In view of the requests from the industry stakeholders, Ministry of Textiles has decided to re-open the PLI Portal till 31 August 2023 for inviting applications from interested companies under PLI scheme of Textiles for MMF Apparel, MMF Fabrics and products of Technical Textiles," an official statement said. All the terms and conditions notified earlier vide notifications and guidelines shall be applicable, it added.

British India Corp employees to get dues from Saturday: Textiles Minister

Disbursement of pending dues of employees at British India Corporation will begin from Saturday, the government said on Friday. Rs 80.17 crore will be disbursed for overdue salaries and retirement benefits, and 1,101 employees of British India Corporation will benefit from this disbursement. The disbursement is set to bring relief to the employees and their families enduring financial hardships since the cessation of production in 2009 at both units in Dhariwal and Lalimli Kanpur. "The disbursement of pending dues of employees at British India Corporation Ltd. (BIC), a Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Textiles, is expected to begin from tomorrow i.e. June 24, 2023. "The total amount to be disbursed for overdue salaries and retirement benefits to BIC employees comes up to Rs 80.17 crore. The Union Budget 2023 had approved a disbursement towards the long-awaited resolution of these dues," the Textiles Ministry stated. The amount allocated for salary and retirement due

India is committed to Indian Ocean nations' well being: EAM Jaishankar

Initiatives taken by the textiles ministry has led to registering of case by the CBI against six officials of the office of Textile Commissioner, Navi Mumbai relating to fraudulent claim of subsidy, a senior government official said. Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal gave its approval for detailed CBI investigation into the case following the "zero tolerance policy" against corruption. The CBI, according to the reports, has registered a case against the six officials and six Bhiwandi-based suppliers for allegedly claiming subsidies worth about Rs 6.5 crore in a fradulent manner. The subsidies were meant for power-loom sector for modernisation. The accused had used fake stamp papers to claim these subsidies. "The ministry had informed the CBI about the irregularities observed in the implementation of in-situ upgradation scheme for plain power looms by Textile Commissioner," the official added. Under the subsidy scheme under which power looms were given financial assistance for in-situ

Despite dip in sales, India's clothing market expands 15% on price hike

The branded apparel segment now accounts for 30% of the market, which was only 25% five years ago

Govt introduces quality control orders for 31 textile items, more on anvil

The QCOs, which apply to both domestic and foreign manufacturers, have been brought in to ensure adherence of such products to global standards

In a first, textiles ministry to give platform to showcase circular items

For the first time, the textiles ministry will provide a platform to women-led startups to showcase circular products -- which are largely based on textile waste -- pre or post consumption-- at an exhibition next week. As part of the International Women's Day celebration, the ministry of textiles is organising a week-long celebratory programme at Handloom Haat, Janpath, New Delhi. "As the consumers especially in developed markets are becoming more and more discerning and conscious of their carbon footprint and the environmental impact as an industry, we would also have to gear up," textiles secretary Rachna Shah said. Another textile ministry official observed that internationally there is a movement towards circular economy and lifestyle. Circularity in textiles is also catching up especially with new regulations coming in from the EU and US. "Most of our export obligations are covered by circularity. We find that many women-led startups have ventured into schemes where they take

Govt may bring 151 technical textile items under quality control order

The government is considering the inclusion of 151 technical textile items under the Quality Control Order, a move expected to curb substandard imports, an official said on Friday. The move assumes significance as India has heavy import dependence on machinery and specialty fibre for technical textiles. To deliberate upon the issue, stakeholder consultations will be held on February 28, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles Rajeev Saxena said, adding that "151 items now we are considering to bring under quality control order". However, he did not specify these identified items. Technical Textiles can be described as textile materials and products used primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than their aesthetics or decorative characteristics. They can be classified into industrial, functional, performance, engineering, invisible and hi-tech categories. Of USD 260 billion market size globally, India's technical textiles contribution was USD

Textile minister discusses unutilised production capacity in man-made fibre

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday discussed high levels of unutilised production capacities of man-made fibre due to imports with stakeholders at a meeting here. Holding the first meeting, the newly constituted Textile Advisory Group for Manmade Fibre (MMF) at Vanijya Bhavan, the minister said the government will expedite enforcement of all the Quality Control Order (QCO) on the MMF products. "Goyal suggested that different segments of the value chain need to be supportive to each other's requirements and challenges for the holistic growth of the sector," an official statement said. The textiles ministry stated that high levels of unutilised production capacities of man-made fibre due to import was discussed, adding that stakeholders suggested various possible solutions to strengthen and revamp the MMF value chain. The matters of import surge of cheap imports of PTA and MEG into India was also discussed. Goyal said the government will expedite enforcement of all the Quality ..

Countries eager to sign FTAs with India: Piyush Goyal in Rajya Sabha

Countries across the world are looking at India as a trusted partner and want to sign free trade agreements with it after its emergence as a strong force in the world, Textile Minister Piyush Goyal said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. He said talks are underway with the European Union, Gulf countries, Canada and the United Kingdom for free trade agreements (FTA) and the FTAs with two developed economies of the UAE and Australia will be enforced in this year alone. Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the minister said it is true that in last few years, Bangladesh and Vietnam have made progress in the field of cotton textiles and garments. Bangladesh is still the least developed country (LDC) and will remain so till 2026 and because of that it gets duty free access in all world markets, he noted. Similarly, Vietnam has a FTA with the European Union due to which they get duty free access to the big market while our garments attract 9 to 10 percent duty in EU markets,

India will aim to achieve $100 bn export target for textiles by 2030: Goyal

Citing the case of the FTA negotiations with the United Kingdom, Goyal said the country had a 9 per cent duty on different items and if that goes away, it will benefit the sector, he said

National Technical Textiles Mission: Centre clears 23 strategic projects

The Ministry of Textiles cleared 23 strategic research projects worth around Rs 60 crores in the areas of specialty fibres, sustainable textiles, geotextiles, mobiltech and sports textiles under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal, on Wednesday, informed the Ministry of Textiles on Friday.These strategic research projects fall under the flagship programme 'National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM).Among these 23 Research projects, 12 Projects of Speciality Fibres having application areas in Agriculture, Smart Textiles, Healthcare, Strategic Application and Protective gears were cleared. 4 Projects from Sustainable Textiles having application areas in Agriculture and Healthcare sectors were cleared. Also, five projects from Geotextile, one from Mobiltech and one from Sportech were cleared, informed the Ministry.Member NITI Aayog (Science & Tech) & Principle Scientific Advisor (PSA) provided inputs pertaining to Technical Textile for the meeting ...

Govt clears 23 strategic projects under National Technical Textiles Mission

The Centre has cleared 23 strategic research projects of around Rs 60 crore in the areas of specialty fibres, sustainable textiles, geotextiles, mobiltech and sports textiles under its flagship programme National Technical Textiles Mission. The projects were approved under the chairmanship of Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal on September 14, an official statement said on Friday. "Among these 23 research projects, 12 projects of Speciality Fibres having application areas in agriculture, smart textiles, healthcare, strategic application and protective gears were cleared. "Four projects from sustainable textiles having application area in agriculture and healthcare sector were cleared. Also, five projects from geotextile, 1 from mobiltech and 1 from sportech were cleared," the Textile Ministry stated. While addressing the esteemed group of Scientists and Technical Technologists, Goyal said, "Industry and Academia connect is essential for the growth of research and development in the ..

In 75th year of Independence, India may shut down British India Corp

Established by British entrepreneur Sir Alexander MacRobert in 1920, the public limited company produced woollen products under the brand name "Dhariwal, apart from "Lal-Imli" -- once household names

Textile min receives applications for PLI in man-made fibres, techtex

The textile ministry has received applications from as many as 67 companies to avail benefits of the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for man-made fibres and technical textile sectors.

'India's textiles exports can touch $100 bn from current $40 bn in 5 years'

Textiles Secretary Upendra Prasad Singh said the country's apparel industry must focus on vertical integration to increase its scale and size to benefit from the production-linked incentive scheme

Govt extends timeline for submitting applications under textile PLI scheme

Under the scheme, incentives worth Rs 10,683 cr will be provided over 5 years for manufacturing man-made fabric, garments-jerseys and certain other products

Apparel exports rise 10.22 % to $1,190 mn in Sept as sector sees recovery

Industry representatives believe this is an indication that the sector has begun its V-shaped recovery and the situation would get better