Table of content
- Introduction
- Indian Textile Industry
- Key facts related to the Indian textile industry:
- Importance of the textile industry in India:
- Reasons for the decline in the Indian textile industry:
- Problems associated with the textile sector
- Challenges before the Textile industry:
- Vision 2025
- Government Initiatives
- Why is there a need for a new textile policy?
- Solutions:
- Textile Industry: an Overview
- The Future
Introduction
The Indian textile industry is now in a scenario of threats and opportunities. While it enjoys opportunities to gain an advantage in unrestricted markets, it also faces unexpected threats. During 2010, the Indian textile industry has been facing many difficulties. Earlier, the global economic crisis caused a series of financial difficulties like closures, small capacity utilizations, layoffs and a decline in sales etc. Now, an acute increase in textile product prices and declining exports to the US because of competition are putting the textile industry in a challenging situation. Although, several amounts of recovery produced a ray of hope in the minds of people.
Indian Textile Industry

The close association of the textiles industry with agriculture and the former culture and traditions of the country. In terms of textiles, it is unique as compared to other industries in the country. Hence India is known as the world’s second-largest manufacturer of textiles and garments and the world’s third-largest manufacturer of cotton after China and the USA. The Indian market is also the second largest in terms of using Cotton, after China.
India needs to have a new textile policy
Key facts related to the Indian Textile Industry:
- The second-largest employer in India after agriculture, the textile industry employs an estimated 32 million people and produces everything from fibre to clothing.
- Millions of households depend on the textile industry for their livelihood. But it also serves as a repository for traditional skills, and cultural history, and a conduit for heritage and custom.
- One of the oldest businesses in the Indian economy is textiles.
- With over 11% of all exports, the textile industry is one of India’s major export contributors.
- The textile business requires a lot of labour.
- The organized and unorganized sectors make up the two main divisions of the textile industry. Handicrafts, sericulture, and handloom are among the unorganized sector’s small-scale, conventionally operated businesses. While the organized sector includes the spinning, clothing, and textiles segments that use contemporary equipment and procedures like economies of scale.
Importance of the Textile Industry in India:
- The national economy has benefited greatly from the textile industry in terms of the creation of direct and indirect jobs as well as net foreign exchange gains.
- Textile Industry contributes about 14% of industrial production, 4% of the GDP, and 27% of the country’s foreign exchange inflows.
- Over 45 million individuals have direct employment as a result of it.
- After agriculture, the textile industry is the second largest employer.
- The expansion and general development of this business directly affect India’s economic growth.
Reasons for decline in Indian Textile Industry:
- One of the factors contributing to the decline of the Indian textile industry is the global recession.
- decreased export orders as a result of global retail behemoths like Wal-Mart reducing their stockpiles.
- obstructions in the infrastructure, particularly in Tamil Nadu with regard to power.
Problems associated with Textile Sector:
- Lack of funds: These power looms ability to produce and export has been severely limited by the lack of suitable financial availability.
- International tariff: When compared to tariffs on textiles from Pakistan, Egypt, Japan, and Vietnam, the tariff on Indian goods ranges from 3 to 14%, which is quite high. Thus, India is losing expertise as a result of the US and China importing textiles from Pakistan at nearly zero tax.
- Costly cotton export: Cotton Corp. of India shipped high-quality cotton to other countries at prices above market rates, which may have generated immediate profits but ultimately cost Indians their textile market.
- High transaction costs (high excise and customs fees) and input costs (expensive raw materials) rendered this sector even less feasible. The price of long-staple cotton imported from Uganda, Egypt, etc.
- High MSP: Cotton’s minimum support price was too high, further destroying India’s textile industry.
Challenges before the Textile industry:
- Automation, digital printing, and the unstoppable growth of e-commerce are all contributing to the massive churn in this industry.
- The expansion of India’s textile and apparel exports has been constrained by the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA), a quota system that is openly discriminatory.
- At 12%, India’s proportion of global exports, which includes textiles, is less than half of what it was in 1996. While the export share of other industries, such as gasoline and diesel, increased from 0% to 20%.
Vision 2025
The local textile and apparel industry is aiming to grow at a CAGR of 12%, by 2025. So as to reach a level (higher) of US $350 billion. Uplifted by the changing scenario in textile exports. India aims to grow at a CAGR of 20% for the next 5 years so that it can reach a level of US $300 billion.
Government Initiatives
- The Indian government has created several export promotion strategies for the textile industry. Additionally, it has made 100% FDI in the Indian textile industry automatic.
- In June, a special package of Rs 6,006 crore was introduced for the textile and apparel industry. It is anticipated to bring in USD 11 billion in investments, produce USD 30 billion in exports, and result in the creation of one crore of new employment in three years.
- The Indian government intends to roll out a massive package for the power loom industry that would include tax breaks, marketing assistance, cluster development, insurance coverage, social welfare programmes, and upgrades for outmoded looms in addition to cluster development and social welfare initiatives.
- To give artists and weavers in various handloom and handicraft clusters around the nation a platform to market their wares directly to consumers, the Ministry of Textiles has signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) with 20 e-commerce businesses.
- During the Vibrant Gujarat 2017 Summit, Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs 8,835 crore (US$ 1.3 billion) were signed in a variety of fields. It includes textile parks, textile processing, machinery, carpet development, and others.
- The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textile (CCCT) and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to investigate possible areas of cooperation for boosting Indian clothing exports.
- The Indian government has been promoting its “India Handloom” project on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to reach consumers. Particularly young people, and market high-quality handloom items.
The Indian government has put into effect a number of policies to promote exports, including:
- The Focus Product Scheme covers particular technical textile products.
- Exports of these products are eligible for duty credit scrip equal to 2% of the freight on board (FOB) value of exports under this programme.
- Financial support is given for export promotion initiatives on focal countries and focus product nations under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme.
- Financial support is given for a variety of export promotion initiatives carried out by Textiles Export Promotion Councils under the Market Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme.
Why is there a need for a new Textile policy?
- The previous textile industry strategy was established some 17 years ago. When the Multi Fiber Agreement, a blatantly unjust quota system, was in effect throughout the world (MFA)
- Although MFA was abolished in 2005, India did not update its policy in line with this change.
- India has lagged behind Bangladesh and Vietnam in textile exports during the last two decades.
- Global technological advancements in the area of synthetic fibers require India to reevaluate and adjust its strategy.
- Government cannot afford for this industry to disappear because it employs a sizable population.
- By lowering the cost of manufacture, it will increase the marketability of Indian clothing abroad.
Solutions:
- We require a national textile policy statement, similar to the 1999 national telecom strategy.
- There is a huge need for skill improvement.
- It’s also important to have a tax system that doesn’t tax fibre.
- A significant digital push in automation and design
- Addressing the demands of the e-commerce revolution
- India also has to identify more significant customers outside China for its products and diversify its export market.
Numerous industries are already utilizing AI to speed up digitization and achieve successful business growth. Due to the pandemic last year, businesses now operate differently, and nearly everything is now digital. Since they are currently gradually using AI and automation in order to alter their production, manufacturing processes, customer relations, etc. The textile sector is not an exception.
Textile Industry: An Overview
China, the European Union, the United States, and India are the major competitors in the ever-expanding textile business. India has the third-largest textile manufacturing sector in the world, with more than $30 billion in exports. India accounts for more than 6% of the world’s total textile production. It has a market value of about USD 150 billion.
Modern technologies like AI and IoT have transformed every aspect of the textile industry. Since the processes have been automated, AI can now finish human duties more quickly and efficiently. The amount of human intervention has decreased.
However, less than 5% of modern technology based on AI is used in India. Only 2% of businesses employ equipment that is less than five years old worldwide. The purpose of this essay is to raise awareness of the usage of AI in the textile sector. Myanmar Golden Heart is also engaging in the textile manufacturing business, contact them for any kind of query.
1. Yarn Manufacturing:
The employment of AI in every step of the manufacturing process, from the blow room to carding, drawing, lap forming, combing, speed frame, ring spinning, winding, conditioning, and packing, has radically changed the industry. The AI-based control panels configure all necessary manufacturing parameters with the least amount of human involvement. This has increased quality and cost-cutting while also speeding up the process. Computing spins have also improved the precision of yarn prediction. Artificial intelligence has improved fabric grading by reducing errors in predicting yarn grading by as much as 60%. AI has simplified the process of evaluating a textile’s physical characteristics and categorizing fabric comfort.
2. Quality Control:
The skilled personnel have typically achieved quality control through physical examination. Because AI can guarantee consistency and quality, this industry makes extensive use of it. The production of yarn and clothing receives the most use. Utilizing cutting-edge equipment and technology ensures the highest level of production quality. Instruments for evaluating the length, MIC, colour, and homogeneity of raw cotton. Uster Tester-6 is a comprehensive testing centre system for gauging and controlling the process in terms of unevenness, imperfection, and hairiness from carding through the winding.
3. Fabric and Pattern Assessment:
With the aid of neuro-fuzzy to yarn prediction, AI can be used to anticipate the fabric’s characteristics before it is manufactured. There are many stages to patterns, including weaving, knitting, braiding, etc. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a type of AI approach that can be useful in identifying defects in fabric inspection.
4. Color Management:
Data colour had been heavily utilized for colour management to validate that the produced textile’s colour matched the original colour scheme. To produce contributory examinations that closely resemble the samples of visual inspections. Data colour suggests that its AI feature is able to take into consideration past data of visual assessment outcomes from human operators.
5. Supply Chain and Merchandising:
The supply chain has a significant impact on how well the transfer of commodities takes place between producers and retailers. Large storage areas, a well-equipped warehouse, transportation, and documentation are necessary for the supply chain management. Through robotics, RPA, ML, and other technologies, AI can assist in automating the shipping and packing for the textile sector. The use of AI in marketing can greatly improve customer experience, track consumer behaviour, forecast market trends, and other tasks. Myanmar Golden Heart is also using technologies with AI capabilities to facilitate efficient communication between producers, production endpoints, retailers, and customers.
The Future
With the help of AI technology, the future of the textile sector appears to be pretty prosperous for all stakeholders. Technologies include sensor-based detection of fabric flaws or assessing yarn look. We might also observe textile players taking cues from players in the finance or healthcare industries and adopting “transferrable: data science and data-mining techniques. Virtual modelling of yarn from fibre properties (Cornell), as predicted by yarn tensile properties and yarn unevenness would become a possibility.
By advancing corporate evolution and offering sustainable fashion. AI will play a significant role in transforming the textile sector in the years to come. If you are thinking about starting a textile business, you can take help and assistance from Myanmar Golden Heart.