Zero duty on raw materials can boost employment opportunities in textile sector in India: Amitabh Kant
2025-07-25 11:34:59
Zero Duty on Raw Materials to Boost Textile Jobs: Amitabh Kant
India must eliminate import duty on man-made fibre (MMF) raw materials and scrap quality control orders (QCOs) to make the textile sector globally competitive and create lakhs of manufacturing jobs, according to former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
"The solution to job creation in India lies in the textile and apparel industry. It has the potential to add lakhs of manufacturing jobs," Kant said in a post on microblogging platform X.
He pointed out that 70 per cent of the textile and apparel market globally is based on MMF and the rest on cotton, while in India the ratio is the opposite, which limits competition.
"At the raw material level, especially in the MMF market, there is a lack of competition. Raw materials such as polyester and viscose attract high import duty," Kant said.
"Raw material for MMF is about 25 per cent more expensive than our competitors. This cost disadvantage increases further as we move down the value chain," he said.
"Making raw materials competitive means freeing up millions of small enterprises, boosting their growth, creating a large number of jobs and making India a global textile superpower," he added.
