The Textile sector is the 2nd largest employer in India after agriculture with 4cr direct and 6cr indirect employment.

Multitude of Challenges: 1) Lack of focus on competitive advantage (eg Textile industry is declining) 2) Challenge from other players (eg Bangladesh witnessed 70% growth in textile) 3) Lack of skilled labour - only 4%, while South Korea has 9% skilling 4) Lack of capital availability 5) Large number of very small textile plants 6) Absence of a proper regulatory mechanism for SPS of textile Vast Opportunities: 1) 2nd largest silk production 2) 2nd largest cotton production 3) Largest producer of Jute and Metta 4) Presence of many varieties of fabric (eg Muga Silk, Eri, Mulberry, Tassar) 5) Large number of artisans and Trades as Mother of textiles Way Forward: 1) Promotion of mechanization of jute milk 2) Export orientation for specialty products (eg Dodo carpet, Droscha carpet) 3) Yield of textiles to be made better with HYV needs 4) Promote 'Brand India' 5) Easy availability of capital (eg Introduce a new priority sector lending obligation for textiles) Textile are the creation of the easy Indians as seen in Indus valley excavation. We need to leverage our skilled artisans through schemes like PM Vishwakrama.