Textiles are among India's oldest industries and its second-largest employer after agriculture, supporting over 4.5 crore people across the value chain — cotton farming, spinning, weaving, and garment-making. The domestic textile and apparel market grew to roughly $175 billion, and India remains among the world's top-five textile exporters, strong in cotton and increasingly in technical textiles.
Textiles
Textiles
Textiles are one of India's oldest industries and its second-largest employer, supporting over 4.5 crore people from cotton farms to garment factories. The domestic textile and apparel market grew to roughly $175 billion, and India is a top-five global exporter. This counter shows the indicative size of the textile and apparel market.
~$100 → 175 bn
Market size
~4.5 crore
People employed
Top 5
Global exporter
Textile & apparel market
| Year | Textile market size |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 100 $ bn |
| 2015 | 108 $ bn |
| 2016 | 116 $ bn |
| 2017 | 125 $ bn |
| 2018 | 135 $ bn |
| 2019 | 145 $ bn |
| 2020 | 130 $ bn |
| 2021 | 150 $ bn |
| 2022 | 160 $ bn |
| 2023 | 168 $ bn |
| 2024 | 175 $ bn |
| 2025 | 185 $ bn |
2014
0$ bn
Textile market size
20142025
Since 2014
Added
+85 $ bn
2014
100 $ bn
2025
185 $ bn
Why it matters Textiles employ millions — many of them women and rural workers — so the industry's health directly shapes livelihoods across the country.
- Market size: ~$100 bn (2014) → ~$175 bn (2024); 4.5 crore+ jobs
- PLI, PM MITRA parks; exports lag behind competitors
- Source: Ministry of Textiles / IBEF (indicative)
History
Notable initiatives
To modernise the sector, the government launched a PLI scheme for man-made fibre and technical textiles and the PM MITRA plan for seven mega textile parks with plug-and-play infrastructure. India's status as the world's largest cotton producer, a young workforce and free-trade deals (such as the India-UK FTA) are meant to lift exports toward a $100 billion goal.
How it works
Textiles is a whole value chain — from cotton and man-made fibre to yarn, fabric, dyeing and finished garments — and India is one of few countries that does every stage at home. It's also India's second-largest employer after agriculture, powered by millions of small units and weavers. Policy now pushes two things: scale (big integrated parks and incentives) and a shift from cotton toward man-made and technical textiles, where global demand is growing.
Outlook
Textile and apparel exports run around $37 billion, the sector employs about 4.5 crore people directly, and the government is backing it with a ₹10,683-crore PLI scheme and seven PM MITRA mega-parks — aiming for $100 billion in exports by 2030. The task ahead is turning size into competitiveness — matching Bangladesh and Vietnam on cost and speed, moving up into higher-value man-made and technical textiles, and using new trade deals to win market share.
The road ahead
The task ahead is turning size into competitive exports — India's textile exports have hovered around $35-40 billion, so the next step is scaling up, growing man-made-fibre capacity, and closing the gap with Bangladesh and Vietnam.
By the numbers
~$100 → ~$175 bn market (2014→2024, indicative). ~4.5 crore employed. Top-5 global exporter. Exports ~$35-40 bn, roughly flat. PLI + PM MITRA. Sources: Ministry of Textiles, IBEF, Invest India.
Source: Ministry of Textiles / IBEF — indicative textile & apparel market size (US$ billion), 2014–2025.