The Government of India has announced plans for a comprehensive nationwide survey of the textile industry, marking a significant step toward data-driven policy making for one of the country’s most critical economic sectors. The initiative is aimed at mapping key textile hubs across various states and evaluating the overall health and dynamics of the industry before rolling out the survey in 2027.
The upcoming survey, led by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), will collect detailed data on a broad range of structural and performance indicators within the textile industry. Among the key areas of focus are:
Financial inclusion of textile enterprises
Gross Value Added (GVA) and productivity
Enterprise characteristics and worker conditions
Export performance and global linkages
Access to credit, loan uptake, and repayment patterns
This effort will equip policymakers with reliable, ground-level data to better assess strengths and weaknesses across the sector, helping tailor policies and incentives where they are most needed.
The Indian textile and apparel industry is a major contributor to the country’s economy — accounting for around 2.3 % of GDP and 13 % of industrial production — and also serves as one of the largest employment generators nationwide.
Given this strategic importance, the government has recognised the need for a comprehensive, official diagnostic of the sector’s condition. Officials state that while India has numerous textile clusters spread across states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, detailed statistics on financial health, workforce conditions and cluster performance are not uniformly available.
The survey intends to cover a diverse cross-section of textile centres, including:
Surat (Gujarat) — major centre for synthetic fabrics
Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu) — renowned for knitwear manufacturing
Ludhiana (Punjab) — prominent woollens and hosiery hub and various other traditional and emerging clusters across the country.
Government officials have confirmed that the Ministry of Textiles formally requested this specialized survey in order to understand nuanced conditions across textile enterprises. The collected insights are expected to inform future policy formulation, investment promotion, infrastructure support, export strategies, and labour welfare measures, addressing key challenges in the sector.
This nationwide textile survey reflects a broader government push toward evidence-based decision making, strengthening India’s position in the global textile value chain. By quantifying sector performance and identifying specific growth bottlenecks, the survey will play a crucial role in planning support for technology adoption, workforce skill development, credit access, and export competitiveness.
As India aims to expand its textile industry’s scale and global footprint in the coming decade, this initiative could become a cornerstone for strategic reforms and growth-oriented policies.
10:45 AM, Jan 03
Source : India Launches Nationwide Textile Sector Survey to Map Hubs & Assess Industry Health