First Development Council for Textile Industry Meeting Convenes
The Ministry of Textiles held the inaugural meeting of the Development Council for Textile Industry (DCTI) on October 6, 2026, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles, Smt. Neelam Shami Rao, and attended by senior ministry officials, industry associations, export promotion councils, research associations, state government representatives, and sector experts.
The Council serves as the apex consultative platform between government, industry, and stakeholders, with a mandate to advise the government on the orderly growth and development of the textile industry. The Chair emphasized that the textiles and apparel sector remains one of India's largest employment generators and export earners, calling for a coordinated, whole-of-value-chain approach.
Key Deliberation Areas
The council focused on five primary areas: Production and Productivity addressed capacity addition, modernization, scale, and cost competitiveness across the entire value chain from fiber to apparel. Research and Development discussions centered on strengthening industry-research linkages, fostering innovation in new-age fibers and technical textiles, and facilitating faster commercialization of R&D through research associations and institutions.
Exports and Market Access deliberations focused on product and market diversification, leveraging trade agreements, and addressing quality, compliance, and logistics constraints faced by exporters. Raw Material and Input Availability examined ensuring stable and competitive availability of cotton, man-made fibers, yarn, dyes, and chemicals supported by effective market intelligence. Investment, Skilling and Sustainability covered promoting ease of doing business, strengthening MSME support, workforce skilling, and adoption of sustainable and circular practices.
Outcomes and Next Steps
The Council agreed to constitute Working Groups/Sub Committees on priority themes and will meet at regular intervals to review progress. The recommendations will inform the Ministry's policy and program interventions aimed at achieving higher domestic production, improved productivity, more integrated value chain, faster research translation, sustained export growth through diversification, and greater investment and employment generation with a stronger sustainable domestic ecosystem.