India's textiles horse finally has both legs free

India’s long decline in textiles and garments was not due to bad luck or weak factories, but poor policy choices.

- AJAY SRIVASTAVA.

After years of hurting its own synthetic industry, the country is finally removing the barriers that held it back. The policy reset has begun — now execution, scale and speed matter most. The turnaround can start now.

China shipped $113 billion of garments last year, Bangladesh $51 billion and Vietnam $39 billion — while India, despite its rich textile heritage, managed only $17 billion.

Vietnam and Bangladesh built smooth, low-cost synthetic supply chains to serve this demand. India clung to cotton — and then made synthetics even costlier through high duties, anti dumping actions, and sweeping quality control orders (QCOs) that restricted imports and priced micro, small, and medium enterprises out of the winterwear boom.

The impact is visible on the factory floor. Most Indian units run at full capacity only during the cotton-heavy spring-summer season and sit idle through autumn and winter, when synthetics drive global orders. Costs run year-round, revenues don’t.