One goal that India must prioritise if it has to become Viksit Bharat by 2047 is job creation. The textiles and apparel industry is India’s second-largest employer after agriculture, providing direct employment to 45 million people. The sector is expected to motor on at an annual growth rate of 10 per cent and become a USD 250 billion market by 2030, with the potential to add millions of more jobs. If our exports grow from the current USD 45 billion to the targeted USD 100 billion, and if the economy grows at 6-7 per cent a year, textiles can add up to one million jobs every year from now to 2030 — 10 per cent of what the country needs.

This is all very good. But we have an opportunity to be great. China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, the world’s three leading textile exporters, are undergoing shifts for reasons ranging from geopolitics to internal turmoil. Global markets are increasingly looking towards India. We have a lot going for us — a relatively stable economy and government, good relationships with the world’s leading nations, a centuries-old textile tradition and a young population.

The government has been forward-looking........

© Indian Express