By Padmashri Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, Apparel, Made-Ups, and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC), on Union Budget 2026-27
Union Budget 2026-27 is a landmark ‘Yuva Shakti’ driven roadmap that places the Indian textile and apparel ecosystem at the heart of our journey toward Viksit Bharat. On behalf of the Apparel, Made-Ups, and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC), I congratulate the Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji and Hon’ble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman ji for a visionary strategy that directly addresses the needs of our labor-intensive sector.
The package reflects a strong intent to modernise 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 special-use fibres will improve raw material security and reduce import dependence. The Mission for Cotton Productivity will raise yields, promote extra-long staple varieties, and improve farmer incomes while ensuring quality inputs for industry.
Support to traditional and cluster-based textiles: The Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Initiative and the National Handloom and Handicrafts Programme will strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts through better integration, market access and value addition. Modernisation of traditional textile clusters will sustain employment and local economies.
Skilling and modernisation: Samarth 2.0 and allied skilling initiatives will equip workers with contemporary manufacturing and design skills, supporting 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: Customs duty exemptions on key textile machinery, targeted tariff rationalisation, enhanced MSME credit support, BharatTradeNet and the Export Promotion Mission will lower costs and boost export competitiveness.