In the Union Budget 2026–27, the Union Finance Minister announced the “Tex-Eco Initiative” to promote a globally competitive and sustainable textile and apparel sector. The initiative aims to support innovative technologies for the circular economy, including textile waste management, recycling, and value addition, as well as the development of recycled fibres, new materials, sustainable packaging, and other high-value products from discarded textiles, in collaboration with research institutions, Textile Research Associations, Centres of Excellence, industry, start-ups, and other relevant stakeholders.
Further, the government in view of the growing global importance of environmentally sustainable production practices including green technology adoption, recycling and waste reduction, and their anticipated benefits in terms of enhanced global competitiveness, improved market access, enhanced environmental & economic resilience, and strengthened investor confidence, a number of initiatives have been taken:
The Government has been facilitating a series of pilot projects across the country to raise awareness and build capacity on global best practices of sustainable production & consumption with focus on subjects such as:
A project titled “Eliminating Hazardous Chemicals from Textile Fashion Supply Chain” in partnership with UNIDO and supported by Global Environment Facility (GEF) to eliminate hazardous chemicals from the apparel fashion supply chain in India while promoting sustainable practices aimed at reducing environmental impacts particularly in terms of energy and waste use, and greenhouse gas emissions.
‘Accelerating the Transition of the Indian Textile Sector towards Circularity’ (In-Tex India) being implemented in collaboration with UNEP, focuses on scaling circular business models by leveraging Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodologies.
Under the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM), several research and development (R&D) projects have been sanctioned with a focus on environmentally sustainable technologies and materials.
The PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel Parks are designed as a world-class industrial ecosystem to build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
In order to mitigate effects of increasing textile waste, Government has undertaken number of activities including signing of an MoU among Textile Committee, Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) and the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) to promote the use of upcycled products in Government procurement.
Further, the Ministry has released the report “Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India” which provides a comprehensive assessment of textile waste generation, recovery pathways, recycling technologies and opportunities to strengthen circularity across India’s textile value chain. The Government’s approach combines support for technology development, research and innovation, to strengthen demand for sustainable and recycled textile products. Together, these are aimed at improving resource efficiency and environmental performance across the textile value chain while enhancing the global competitiveness of Indian textiles and apparel.
This information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES SHRI PABITRA MARGHERITA in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
