- Tamil Nadu dominates the Indian textile industry, with 2032 spinning mills, 5.63 lakh powerlooms, 1.55 lakh handlooms, and nearly 15,000 garment units.
- The state excels with 46% of spinning capacity, 60% of yarn exports, 20% of power loom capacity, 12% of handloom capacity, and 70% of cotton fabric knitting capacity.
- Tamil Nadu ranks as the third-largest recipient of FDI in India’s textile sector, with total FDI inflows of US $4.2 billion between April 2000 and March 2023.
- Tamil Nadu is home to India’s first PM Mitra Park and plans to establish a 1,500-acre textile park in Virudhunagar district. Two dedicated industrial parks for technical textiles, in collaboration with JICA, are located in Kancheepuram and Karur.
- The Tamil Nadu Government has made an allocation of Rs.1133.41 crore in the Budget Estimate for the department of handloom in the year 2023-24 and Rs. 1129.18 Lakh for the Department of Textiles.
- Tamil Nadu has 50+ Handloom Clusters, a robust ecosystem with numerous power looms, and a steady supply of cotton yarn.
- The Tamil Nadu government has allocated US$ 1.86 million (Rs. 15.32 crore) for a Sustainable Cotton Cultivation Mission. A “Textile City” in Chennai is part of the state’s strategy to become a major global textile industry player.
- India has set up 8 Centre of Excellence (CoE) to advance technical textiles. One of these, SITRA (South India Textile Research Association) for Medical Tech, is situated in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
- Tamil Nadu has registered six Geographical Indications (GI) to legally protect specific regional products, including Kancheepuram Silk Sarees, Bhavani Jamakkalam, Madurai Sungadi Sarees, Salem Silk Dhoty (Venpattu), Arni Silk Saree, Kovai Kora Cotton Saree, Thirubhuvanam Silk Saree, and Kandangi Saree.
TextileTech & Fashion
Advantage Tamil Nadu
Introduction
Tamil Nadu, India’s textile powerhouse, leads the industry with 40% of the nation’s cotton yarn production and ranks as the top exporter. It’s also the second-largest producer of blended yarn and boasts the highest number of textile mills (60%) in India. Tamil Nadu’s textiles are globally renowned for their exceptional craftsmanship and uniqueness.
The state serves as a key hub for textile exports, with Tiruppur for Knitwear Garments, Coimbatore for Yarn, Karur for Home Textiles, and Chennai for Woven Garment exports. Tamil Nadu’s textile industry is a major contributor to the Indian economy, providing large-scale employment to rural people.
Textile industry is a major economic powerhouse, contributing approximately 2.3% to the country’s GDP and employing around 45 million workers, including 3.5 million handloom workers.
Tamil Nadu’s 265 Weavers Cooperative Societies have 15,000+ looms engaged in Export Oriented Production through Deemed Exports, generating an average annual export turnover of Rs.150.00 Crore. In 2022-2023, they also sold handloom products valued at Rs.1414.22 crore.
India’s textile and apparel (T&A) exports, including handicrafts, reached a record high of $44.4 billion in FY 2021-22, representing a significant increase of 41% and 26% over FY 2020-21 and FY 2019-20, respectively.
Total textile exports are expected to reach US$ 65 billion by FY26. The United States, the European Union-27, and the United Kingdom are India’s major textile and apparel export destinations, accounting for approximately 50% of India’s total exports. This market is expected to reach $250 billion by 2030.
Tamil Nadu has a huge growth potential for Technical Textiles. India’s technical textiles market is the fifth largest in the world, with an estimated value of $16 billion. Tamil Nadu has introduced many schemes like SITP, TUFS, and MITRA to attract private equity and employees and make it a leading textile hub.
Initiatives
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme
The PLI Scheme offers incentives for manufacturing and exporting specific man-made fibre textile products, with a government-approved budget of Rs. 10,683 crore (US$ 1.44 billion).
PM-Mitra Scheme
The Union Budget 2021-22 approved the creation of 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks, investing US$ 541.82 million (Rs. 4,445 crore) over three years to establish state-of-the-art textile parks with common utilities and an R&D lab by 2027–28.
National Technical Textiles Mission
The National Technical Textiles Mission focuses on promoting technical education in engineering and technology related to technical textiles and their applications. With a total budget of USD 190 million, it will be implemented over a four-year period from FY 2020-21 to 2023-24. Under the National Technical Textile Mission (NTTM), 74 research projects for speciality fibre and technical textiles valued at US$ 28.27 million (Rs. 232 crore) were approved.
Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (A-TUFS)
The Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) was a Capital Investment Subsidy (CIS) scheme implemented from 2016 to 2022 with a budget of Rs. 17,822 crores. As of December 2022, it disbursed a total of US$ 75.74 million (Rs. 621.41 crore) in subsidies across 3,159 cases under this scheme.
Samarth Scheme
Samarth is a flagship textile sector skill development scheme focused on job creation through placement-oriented skilling programs. It aims to train 10 lakh individuals over three years (2017-20) with a budget of 1300 crore. As of December 2022, 73,919 people have received training, with 38,823 successfully placed, including 18,194 from SC, 8,877 from ST, and 64,352 women.
SAATHI Scheme
SAATHI Scheme, a collaboration between the Ministry of Textiles and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. (EESL), aims to upgrade textile technologies and rejuvenate India’s power loom sector.
Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector (SCBTS)
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Government of India, has approved a new skill development scheme called ‘Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)’ with an outlay of Rs. 1,300 crore (US$ 202.9 million) from FY18-20. The scheme is aimed at providing a demand driven and placement-oriented skilling programme to create jobs in the organised textile sector and to promote skilling and skill upgradation in the traditional sectors.
Weavers MUDRA Scheme
To support the handloom weavers/weaver entrepreneurs, the Weavers MUDRA Scheme was launched to provide margin money assistance at 20% of the loan amount subject to a maximum of Rs. 10,000 (US$ 127.72) per weaver. The loan is provided at an interest rate of 6% with a credit guarantee of three years.
Government e-Marketplace
The government has facilitated the onboarding of 1.77 lakh weavers, artisans, and handloom entities on Government e-Marketplace (GeM). This move aims to expand their market reach, enabling direct sales to government departments and organizations, thus supporting the handloom and handicrafts sector.
Resources
Incubator and R & D Institutions
- SITRA (South India Textile Research Association) for Technical Textile -Medical Tech, Coimbatore
- NIFT-TEA Incubator-Knitwear Fashion Institute, Tiruppur
- Bombay Textile Research Association, Mumbai.
- Northern India Textile Research Association, UP
Government Ministry/ Department
- Ministry of Textiles
- The Department of Handlooms and Textiles
APEX INSTITUTIONS (Under Department of Handloom & textile, Tamil nadu)
- Tamilnadu Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society Ltd. (CO-OPTEX)
- Tamilnadu Co-operative Textile Processing Mills Ltd (TCTP)
- Tamilnadu Co-operative Spinning Mills Federation Ltd (TANSPIN)
- Tamil Nadu Zari Ltd. (ZARI)
- Tamil Nadu Handloom Development Corporation Ltd (THDC)
- Tamilnadu Textile Corporation Ltd (TNTC)