India has rolled back the Quality Control Order covering machinery and electrical equipment with immediate effect, a move that is set to ease the import of advanced textile machinery such as high end weaving and knitting systems. The decision is expected to remove long standing bottlenecks that had increased compliance costs and slowed the inflow of specialised equipment critical for modern textile manufacturing.

As per a notification from the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety Omnibus Technical Regulation Order 2024 has been formally rescinded in public interest, effective January 14, 2026. With this withdrawal, mandatory certification and safety compliance requirements that were seen as restrictive by the industry now stand eliminated.

This step follows a series of earlier policy relaxations across the man made fibre value chain. Over the past few months, the government had withdrawn Quality Control Orders on polyester staple fibre, its raw materials and yarn, along with viscose fibre. These measures collectively improved access to essential inputs and reduced cost pressures for Textile manufacturers.

Industry associations have long maintained that competitive access to globally benchmarked machinery and raw materials is crucial for India to match the scale and efficiency of leading textile exporting nations. The removal of QCO norms is expected to support faster modernisation, higher productivity and better cost efficiency across spinning, weaving and knitting operations.

Commenting on the development, Ashish Gujarati, past president of The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the permanent withdrawal of the order brings much needed policy clarity. He noted that with the uncertainty removed, textile companies can now plan phased, long term investments with greater confidence, particularly in advanced machinery and capacity expansion.

The move is aligned with the government vision of scaling the Indian textile and apparel industry to 250 billion dollars by 2030, including export potential of 100 billion dollars, by strengthening competitiveness across the entire value chain.