Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, presided over TEXPROCIL Export Awards 2023– 24 ceremony in Mumbai recently. The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL), sponsored by the Government of India, organized the award ceremony to recognize outstanding performers in India’s cotton textile export sector. Smt. Sitharaman distributed the TEXPROCIL Awards to exporters for outstanding performance in exports. Awards were also presented in categories recognizing employment generation, innovation, ESG initiatives and excellence in e-commerce.
The Union Finance Minister also launched the Advanced Certificate Program in International Trade (ACPIT), an initiative aimed at strengthening India’s export ecosystem, on the occasion. This structured certification programme of TEXPROCIL has been designed in alignment with various Government schemes and policy initiatives to enhance the country’s global trade competitiveness.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Finance Minister emphasised the need to strengthen the entire textile value chain, “from farm to fibre, factory, fashion and foreign markets”, to ensure a robust and uninterrupted cotton yarn ecosystem. Referring to the SindhuSaraswati Civilisation and archaeological evidence, the Union Minister noted that India’s rich textile and weaving heritage dates back to ancient times and continues to shape its global identity in the sector. Fulfilling the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 will require ambitious action, including reaching USD 100 billion in textile exports and USD 250 billion in textile production by 2030, further noted by the Union Finance Minister.
Union Finance Minister further highlighted that India has emerged as the sixth-largest textile exporter in the world. The sector supports nearly six crore livelihoods directly and indirectly, contributes around 2.3 per cent to GDP, and accounts for nearly 12 per cent of India’s total export earnings. India is also the world’s secondlargest producer of silk, with textile exports reaching approximately USD 33.5 billion in 2025–26. She stressed that India must accelerate its efforts to establish itself as a global leader in textiles.
Smt. Sitharaman further stated, since 2014, the Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has undertaken several structural reforms to strengthen the textile industry. These include subsidy support, GST reforms, development of PM MITRA Parks to create world-class infrastructure, and the Samarth Scheme focused on skilling and empowering marginalized communities. She noted that under the PM MITRA Scheme, seven world-class textile parks are being developed across the country, with investment MoUs worth over ?27,000 crore already signed. She also highlighted the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), launched in 2016, which provides capital and interest subsidies to promote technology modernization across the sector.
Smt. Vrunda Desai, Textile Commissioner, Government of India, who was present on the occasion, thanked the Union Finance Minister for key textile initiatives announced in the Union Budget, including the Textile Expansion and Employment Scheme, National Fibre Scheme, Tex-Eco Initiative and Samarth 2.0, and reaffirmed the Ministry of Textiles’ commitment towards supporting the sustained growth and modernization of the textile sector.
TEXPROCIL Chairman Shri Vijay Agarwal highlighted the cotton textile sector’s major contribution to India’s economy, noting that TEXPROCIL’s 2,000 exporters contribute nearly US$ 11 billion in exports while the wider ecosystem supports around 35 million jobs.
He emphasized TEXPROCIL’s role in promoting the Indian cotton brand Kasturi Cotton through branding, certification, and traceability initiatives to strengthen India’s global position in sustainable textiles. He also highlighted the Government’s timely support during global disruptions since 2020, including measures such as the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package, ECLGS, MSME support, liquidity assistance, and trade facilitation initiatives. Welcoming recent initiatives like the Export Promotion Mission, TEEM Scheme, and Tex Eco Initiative.
