India’s Textile Exports Stay Resilient As Tamil Nadu Leads Growth

India’s textile and apparel sector has once again proven its resilience, navigating a turbulent global landscape marked by economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and tariff pressures from key markets.

Fresh data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) reveals that the country’s textile, apparel and handicraft exports reached US$ 18,235.44 million during April–September 2025, registering a modest but meaningful growth of 0.1% over the previous year. Though shipments to the United States softened due to continued tariff challenges, strong performance in other regions helped cushion the impact, highlighting the sector’s diversified market strength.

The Ministry of Textiles has remained actively engaged with exporters, especially MSMEs, to understand tariff-related challenges and ensure that India’s competitiveness is protected.

Amid these external pressures, Tamil Nadu has emerged as a key pillar of stability and growth. As the country’s most significant textile-exporting state, it posted a 2.6% rise in exports, increasing from US$ 3,975.04 million in April–September 2024 to US$ 4,078.06 million in the same period this year. The state’s vibrant textile hubs—Tiruppur, Karur, Erode, Coimbatore and Salem, delivered an impressive 11.4% combined export growth.

Tiruppur, India’s leading knitwear centre, particularly benefitted from improved cotton availability following the government’s temporary import duty exemption, which helped ease pressure on raw material costs.

This steady performance has been further supported by a series of targeted policy interventions aimed at strengthening the sector’s long-term foundations. The development of PM MITRA Parks is creating modern, integrated manufacturing ecosystems, while revisions to the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for MMF textiles and technical textiles have expanded eligible products and simplified compliance, encouraging faster investments.

Meanwhile, the National Technical Textiles Mission continues to drive innovation and high-value R&D, giving India an edge in next-generation textile categories.

Cost reduction measures have also played a crucial role. The exemption of import duty on raw cotton until December 31, 2025 has eased input cost pressures, particularly for cotton-centric clusters such as those in Tamil Nadu. GST rationalisation across the textile value chain has improved cash flow and reduced structural inefficiencies, giving manufacturers room to stay competitive.

Export-focused schemes have provided additional strength, RoSCTL continues to support apparel and made-ups exporters by rebating embedded taxes, while RoDTEP extended until March 2026, remains essential to keeping Indian products competitive in global markets. With 15 Free Trade Agreements now operational, including the recently signed India–UK CETA, exporters are gaining better access to high-demand markets.

Beyond rebates and incentives, India is widening its market reach through a 40-country diversification strategy aimed at reducing dependence on traditional regions. Exporters, particularly MSMEs, benefit further from the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE), which provides 100% coverage for up to Rs 20,000 crore in additional credit.

The Export Promotion Mission (EPM) strengthens this ecosystem through two focused arms, Niryat Protsahan, which supports trade finance and credit access, and Niryat Disha, which aids exporters with quality compliance, branding, logistics reimbursement and global market intelligence.

Responsive policymaking remains central to this resilience. The Ministry of Textiles has held two extensive rounds of consultations with exporters across the value chain gathering real-time insights into tariff impacts, logistics constraints and global demand patterns. These dialogues continue to shape timely interventions and ensure that emerging challenges are addressed before they escalate.

Despite the complex global environment, India’s textile sector enters the second half of FY 2025 with steady growth, strengthened by proactive policy support and the sharp performance of its leading manufacturing clusters.

Tamil Nadu’s robust double-digit cluster growth stands as a testament to the sector’s agility and adaptability, reinforcing India’s position as a reliable and competitive supplier on the world stage.

India’s textile narrative today is one of resilience, strategic action and renewed confidence, setting the groundwork for stronger competitiveness and global leadership in the years ahead.