India has set an ambitious target to elevate its textile and apparel (T&A) exports from $34.8 billion in 2023-24 to an eye-popping $100 billion by 2030. This raises a critical question — is this lofty ambition grounded in reality or is it just a daydream? If we look at the long-term trends, India’s T&A exports have grown steadily from $11.5 billion in FY2001 to $34.8 billion in FY24, accounting for only a 4 per cent share in global exports of $774.4 billion. At this pace, achieving the $100 billion target by 2030 seems a tall order unless dramatic, game-changing reforms are introduced.

Delving deeper into the numbers, the apparel segment (HSN codes 61 and 62) within overall T&A exports comprises about 42 per cent. It rose from $5.5 billion in FY2001 to $14.5 billion in FY24. Its share in global apparel exports has remained stubbornly around 3 per cent over this entire period. Meanwhile, competitors like Bangladesh and Vietnam have surged ahead. Bangladesh’s global share has grown from 2.2 per cent to 9.6 per cent, while Vietnam’s share jumped from 1 per cent to 5.8 per cent between 2000 and 2023 (see infographics). A significant portion of this shift occurred post-2010 when China’s global market share slipped from 34.8 per cent to 29.8 per cent, partly due to its  trade war with the US. So, what is preventing India from seizing this opportunity to expand its apparel exports and capture the market space left behind by China? India should not only focus on apparel exports, but the exports of the entire T&A sector if it is to achieve its target of........

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