India's Textile and Apparel Export Performance 2025-26
India's exports of textiles and apparel, including handicrafts, reached ₹3,25,339.0 crore in fiscal year 2025-26, representing a growth of 1.8% over the previous year's exports of ₹3,19,573.2 crore. This growth was achieved despite facing multiple challenges including fluctuations in global demand, variations in input costs, and other trade-related obstacles. The export growth was broad-based, with India recording increased exports to more than 100 destinations during 2025-26 compared to the previous year.
State-Level Export Performance
Madhya Pradesh recorded textile and apparel exports of ₹11,751.7 crore in 2025-26, showing minimal change from ₹11,748.9 crore in the previous year. Bihar demonstrated stronger growth with exports reaching ₹409.0 crore in 2025-26, up from ₹375.6 crore in 2024-25, representing significant percentage growth for the state.
Government Schemes and Initiatives
The Government of India has implemented numerous schemes to promote growth in the textile and apparel sector. Major initiatives include the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, National Technical Textiles Mission, SAMARTH—Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector, Silk Samagra-2, National Handloom Development Programme, National Handicrafts Development Programme, Comprehensive Handicrafts Cluster Development Scheme, Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) Scheme, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme, Export Promotion Mission (comprising Niryat Protsahan and Niryat Disha), and the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters (CGSE).
Recent Policy Interventions
On March 19, 2026, the government launched RELIEF (Resilience and Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation) under the Export Promotion Mission to support exporters affected by disruptions from the conflict in West Asia/Middle East and maritime challenges in the Gulf region. Additionally, the government has exempted import of cotton under Customs Tariff Heading 5201 from June 1 to October 31, 2026, to augment domestic cotton availability.
Trade Agreements and Scheme Extensions
India currently has sixteen Free Trade Agreements in force, including the India-United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Negotiations for an FTA with the European Union have been successfully concluded, and India has signed an FTA with New Zealand. The RoSCTL Scheme, operational since March 2019, has been extended for six months until September 30, 2026, to ensure policy predictability and stability for exporters. Similarly, the RoDTEP Scheme has been extended for the same period until September 30, 2026.
These comprehensive initiatives aim to ensure sustainable growth, generate employment across the textile value chain, promote value addition, strengthen supply-chain resilience, and enhance the global competitiveness of the Indian textile industry. The benefits extend to textile and apparel industries in specific parliamentary constituencies including Khagaria and Samastipur in Bihar, as well as throughout Madhya Pradesh.