CHENNAI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed five schemes under the Integrated Programme for textile industry, which is reeling under the US tariffs pressure since 2025, to revive the sector and generate skilled labourers, focusing on Tier 2 and 3 cities of the country.
Textile sector is largest blue collar job generator in India, employing nearly 45 million people according to the government data.
Against the backdrop of signing of proposed free trade agreement with EU and the UK, where India has received duty-free export access for textile and apparel products, the government has announced National Fibre Scheme for self-reliance in natural fibres such as silk, wool, and jute as well as man-made fibres and new-age fibres; Textile Expansion and Employment Scheme to modernise traditional clusters with capital support; National Handloom and Handicraft programme; Tex-Eco Initiative; and SAMARTH 2.0 to upgrade textile skilling ecosystem.
It has also proposed to set up Mega Textile Parks and launch the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative to strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts.
Under the Integrated Programme, the government has earmarked Rs 1500 crore for FY27.
The Centre also aims to make India a global hub for high-quality and affordable sports goods. The government also plans to bring a scheme to revive 200 legacy industrial clusters.
Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said this budget provides a roadmap for strengthening India’s textile and apparel ecosystem, with a strong focus on self-reliance, sustainability, employment generation and global competitiveness.
Tiruppur Exporters’ Association President KM Subramanaian said the measures signal clear outcome-oriented intent to modernise the sector, strengthen livelihood across the value chain, and accelerate India’s competitiveness in domestic and global markets.
However, staffing experts believe skilling through SAMARTH 2.0 and Gram Swaraj initiative is a timely push, execution of these schemes remains a challenge. Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO TeamLease Edtech, said, “The real challenge, however, lies in last-mile execution—most textile units are small, informal enterprises with limited access to technology, credit and formal skilling. Success will depend on simple delivery mechanisms, academia-industry partnerships and state-level coordination to ensure MSMEs can actually absorb and benefit from these reforms. An enabling ecosystem shall create the right conditions for a new future to bloom.”