The love for fashion and designer-wear is a universal one, cutting across gender, age, caste, creed, and religion. Fashion-loving NRIs may be interested in India’s textile, garments, and fashion industry. If you’re a garment manufacturer, fashion designer, or an investor, you have a lot to gain.

India’s well-organized and enterprising garment industry is among the best in the world. It comprises of designers, manufacturers, exporters, suppliers, stockists, and wholesalers. Indian clothing has carved out a niche in the global markets and earned a reputation for its durability, quality, and beauty.

The eradication of the quota regime is expected to fuel explosive growth in India’s garment industry in the next few years. Changing consumer preferences – buying branded apparel and fashion accessories, retail industry boom, people shopping at department and discount stores, shopping malls, rising disposable incomes, government policy focused on fast-track textile export growth, and ambitious goals have created several investment opportunities in India.

In 2006, India’s textile industry (including garments) contributed 14% to industrial production, 4% to GDP, and 17% to export revenues. It directly employs 35 million people including women and backward classes.

In 2005-06, the textile industry revenues were US$ 47 billion. This industry is expected to post a growth of 16% p.a in the coming years and is expected to generate revenues of US$ 115 billion, including domestic revenues of US$ 60 billion and export revenues of US$ 55 billion, by 2012. Ready made garments form approximately 45% of India’s total textile exports with revenues of US$ 7.75 billion in 2005-06.

The annual plan for 2007-08 formulated by government of India to promote the textile sector, includes schemes for attracting foreign direct investments, brand promotion through public-private partnership (PPP) for global acceptance of Indian brands, trade centers for facilitating business and image building, fashion hubs as a stable marketplace for Indian fashion, common compliance code for creating apparel standards for the benefit of buyers, and training centers for developing human resources.

Fashion aficionados have a lot to gain from India’s textile, garment, and fashion boom. Now is the time to jump onto the fast-rolling garment bandwagon. Do you have a different view? Share it with our readers right here.

Sources: FICCI, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India

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