Parliament Question: Branding of Indian Textiles

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1585 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.12.2025 BRANDING OF INDIAN TEXTILES 1585. SMT. MANJU SHARMA: Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री be pleased to state : (a) whether the Government proposed projects for partnership and international cooperation for globalization of Indian textiles; (b) if so, the details of the schemes proposed to strengthen the supply chain and branding of Indian textiles at national and international level; (c) the details of schemes proposed by the Government to bring about innovation in design; and (d) if so, the details of the mechanism initiated by the Government to ensure monitoring and enhance quality? उत्तर ANSWER वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री (श्री पबित्र मार्घरे रटा) THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SHRI PABITRA MARGHERITA) (a) & (b): India is the world’s sixth-largest exporter of textiles and apparel, recording USD 37.75 billion in exports in 2024–25. With a presence in over 200 global markets, India’s diverse textile value chain enjoys strong international demand and growing recognition as a reliable and trusted supplier. The Government attaches due importance to all initiatives aimed at branding and strengthening the textile supply chain. The details of the initiatives being undertaken at the national and international levels to enhance the global visibility of Indian textiles, apparel and handicraft products—including unified branding, market promotion, trade facilitation and supply-chain strengthening—are mentioned below: (i) The Government has approved the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) which is anchored in a collaborative framework involving the Department of Commerce, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of Finance, and other key stakeholders including Financial Institutions, Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards, industry associations, and State Governments. The NIRYAT PROTSAHAN component of the EPM focuses on improving access to affordable trade finance for MSMEs through a range of instruments such as interest subvention, export factoring, collateral guarantees, credit cards for e- commerce exporters, and credit enhancement support for diversification into new markets. The NIRYAT DISHA component of the EPM focuses on non-financial enablers that enhance market readiness and competitiveness, including export quality and compliance support, assistance for international branding, packaging, and participation in trade fairs, export warehousing and logistics, inland transport reimbursements, and trade intelligence and capacity-building initiatives.(ii) India has signed 15 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). These FTAs aim to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, simplify procedures, and address structural issues to make Indian Exporters more competitive in partner markets. (iii) To strengthen the global positioning of ‘Brand India’ in textiles, The key initiatives include Kasturi Cotton (registered as a trademark to provide a distinct identity to premium Indian cotton, supported by traceability systems to ensure responsible sourcing and supply chain transparency for international buyers); Silk Mark (a certification mark guaranteeing purity and quality of silk products, reinforcing India’s leadership in the global silk segment. (iv) The Ministry supported Export Promotion Councils/Associations in organizing a Global Mega Textile Event i.e. Bharat TEX 2025 to showcase the strength of the Indian textiles value chain, highlighting the latest progress/ innovations in textile & fashion Industry and positioning India as the most preferred destination for sourcing and investment in textile sector (iv) The Government is implementing various schemes/initiatives to boost the Indian textile and apparel sector and enhance its competitiveness. The major schemes/initiatives include RoSCTL/ RoDTEP scheme for rebating the Central and States taxes, duties and levies (not rebated under any other scheme), PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme to create a modern, integrated, world class textile infrastructure; Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme focusing on MMF Fabric, MMF Apparel and Technical Textiles to boost large scale manufacturing and enhancing competitiveness. (c) & (d): The Current key initiatives to promote the innovations in design etc are appended below (i) With a view to boost Technical Textiles in the country National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) was launched which focuses on research & innovation in the field of specialty fibres like Carbon fibre, Aramid fibre, Nylon, Composites etc. as well as in different segments of Technical Textiles such as geo textiles, agro textiles, medical textiles etc. and indigenous development of machinery; promoting awareness amongst users etc.. (ii) The VisioNxt operates as a dedicated Research, Academic and Innovation Unit under NIFT, anchored by a state-of-the-art AI laboratory at NIFT Chennai. The initiative continues to advance indigenous forecasting technologies and strategic design intelligence, reinforcing India’s leadership in culturally grounded, future-ready fashion innovation. It remains focused on strengthening national design competitiveness and enabling the textile value chain to take informed, foresight-driven product development decisions. (iii) To promote design innovation in Handloom sector, Research and Development projects being administered by Ministry of Textiles which include revival and documentation of languishing handloom crafts, experimentation/research on use of new fibres/natural dyes/organic cotton, documentation of existing/developed designs in WSCs etc. Besides, Design Resource Centres (DRCs) have been set up in Weavers’ Service Centres across the country to preserve traditional handloom designs and to build and create design-oriented excellence in the Handloom Sector. ****