PANEL DISCUSSION ON
Beyond Tariffs: Building Global Competitiveness in India’s Textile & Apparel Sector
14th July 2026|14:00-15:30 Hours| Room MR17 | Bharat Mandapam.
India’s textile and apparel (T&A) sector is at a critical juncture. With a domestic workforce exceeding
45 million and having a complete fibre-to-fashion value chain, the sector forms a vital pillar of India’s industrial base and employment generation.
Yet, despite these structural advantages, India’s export performance has remained largely stagnant for over two decades. In FY2025, India’s apparel exports stood at USD 15.7 billion, accounting for just 3 per cent of global trade, significantly behind Bangladesh (USD 51 billion; 9.5 per cent), Vietnam (USD 39.4 billion; 7.3 per cent), and China, with 28.7 per cent of the global market. This stagnation since the early 2000s highlights a central challenge: India’s constraints lie less in factor endowments and more in the alignment of policies, institutions and industrial ecosystems. At a time when global sourcing is diversifying away from China,
India has struggled to capture this shift at scale.
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In a positive direction, India has recently concluded two major trade agreements: the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) which makes India on par in terms of Tariffs with Bangladesh and Vietnam. However, export competitiveness extends well beyond tariff parity. This discussion will draw on the global competitiveness across three critical dimensions: capital, scale and institutional mechanisms; labour, skilling and technology; and trade facilitation to identify actionable lessons that can reposition India’s T&A sector in global value chains. Increasingly, global sourcing decisions are also being shaped by sustainability standards, traceability requirements and digital integration across supply chains.
Recent policy initiatives such as the Integrated Programme for the Textile & Apparel Sector, the Export Promotion Mission (EPM) signal a renewed push toward a more integrated and value-chain-oriented framework. However, translating policy intent into sustained export growth will require stronger institutional coordination, improved access to finance and effective implementation at the cluster level. Aligning India’s T&A sector with these emerging imperatives through green manufacturing, circular production models and adoption of digital technologies will be critical to enhancing export competitiveness and positioning India as a reliable and future-ready sourcing destination in global markets.
Structure of the Session
This panel discussion will deliberate on policy and industry pathways to strengthen India’s
competitiveness across the T&A value chain. Drawing on insights from industry leaders, academia,
policymakers and international organisations, the session will explore how India can build scale-ready
manufacturing ecosystems, enhance productivity and integrate more effectively into global apparel
value chains.
The discussion will focus on three key dimensions of competitiveness across the fibre-to-fashion (5Fs)
ecosystem: building scale-ready manufacturing ecosystems by strengthening value-chain linkages
and leveraging MSMEs, clusters and institutional mechanisms to support export-oriented production;
enhancing productivity and manufacturing competitiveness through improvements in labour
productivity, skilling systems, technology adoption and access to finance for scaling production; and
addressing emerging drivers of global competitiveness beyond tariffs, including sustainability
standards, traceability requirements, digital integration across supply chains and the financing needs
associated with the green transition in T&A production.
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Objectives
1. Assess India’s global competitiveness in the T&A sector in the context of recently concluded
trade agreements and evolving global trade dynamics.
2. Discuss the way ahead for building India’s T&A competitiveness from fibre to fashion,
strengthening linkages across the value chain.
3. Deliberate on policy and industry strategies to enhance scale, productivity, access to finance,
and cluster-based manufacturing ecosystems.
4. Explore emerging drivers of competitiveness, including sustainability standards, compliance
requirements, digitisation and green transition.
Outcomes
1. Insights into key factors influencing the competitiveness of India’s T&A sector in the evolving
global trade environment.
2. Policy perspectives on strengthening scale, productivity and financing mechanisms across
the T&A value chain.
3. Identification of strategic interventions to enhance cluster development, MSME integration
and export competitiveness.
4. Actionable recommendations to position India as a reliable and competitive sourcing
destination in global apparel value chains.
CREDITS: PR received from Sulakshana Rao <
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