India is charting an ambitious path to transform its textile and apparel export landscape, with a clear target of touching 100 billion dollars by 2030, nearly two and a half times the current level of around 40 billion dollars. At the heart of this effort is a comprehensive roadmap being prepared by the Ministry of Textiles, aimed at expanding India share in global markets through scale, value addition and diversification. A key pillar of the strategy involves doubling textile shipments to Free Trade Agreement partners and strengthening India presence in markets where trade barriers are lower and demand for quality products is rising.

Premium Products and New Markets in Focus

Beyond volumes, the roadmap places strong emphasis on premium and culturally rich segments. Traditional products such as Geographical Indication tagged items, carpets, handlooms and silk are expected to play a central role in elevating India export profile. At the same time, the government plans to widen its reach by increasing India share in the imports of the top 40 global markets to about 10 percent, translating into export value of nearly 55 to 60 billion dollars. This approach blends heritage driven offerings with modern branding to appeal to discerning global buyers.

Key focus areas include

• Doubling exports to FTA partner countries

• Targeted branding of high value and heritage products

• Diversifying product mix beyond mass categories

Building New Export Hubs Across Districts

Another cornerstone of the strategy is geographic expansion within the country. States are being encouraged to identify non exporting districts and integrate them into the export ecosystem through capacity building and handholding of first time exporters. While the United States, European Union and United Kingdom together account for more than half of India textile exports, emerging destinations such as Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are gaining attention as future growth engines.

Officials believe that strengthening market linkages for products with strong cultural value and high employment potential will not only expand India global market share from the current 5.8 percent to nearly 12 percent in FTA markets, but also create a more inclusive and resilient export ecosystem by the end of the decade.