Padmashri Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel, Made-Ups, and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC)

“Union Budget 2026–27 is a landmark, ‘Yuva Shakti’-driven roadmap that places the Indian textile and apparel ecosystem at the center of our journey toward Viksit Bharat. On behalf of the Apparel, Made-Ups, and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC), I congratulate PM Shri Narendra Modi ji and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji for a visionary strategy that directly addresses the needs of our labor-intensive sector.

The package demonstrates strong intent to modernize the sector, strengthen livelihoods, and enhance India’s competitiveness in domestic and global markets. Key highlights include:

End-to-End Sector Focus: The National Fibre Mission, covering natural, man-made, and specialty fibres, will enhance raw material security, reduce import dependence, and improve cotton yields through the Mission for Cotton Productivity. This will promote extra-long staple varieties, raise farmer incomes, and ensure quality inputs for industry.

Support for Traditional and Cluster-Based Textiles: Initiatives like the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Initiative and the National Handloom and Handicrafts Programme will strengthen khadi, handloom, and handicrafts through improved market access, value addition, and cluster modernization—sustaining employment and local economies.

Skilling and Modernization: Samarth 2.0 and allied skilling programs will equip workers with modern manufacturing and design skills, fostering productivity gains and adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.

Sustainability and Scale: The Textile Eco Initiative and new Mega Textile Parks will promote environmentally sustainable production, improve compliance and traceability, and create integrated hubs for investment and exports.

Trade and MSME Support: Measures such as customs duty exemptions on key textile machinery, targeted tariff rationalization, enhanced MSME credit support, BharatTradeNet, and the Export Promotion Mission will lower costs and boost export competitiveness.”