Textiles, apparel & leather.

Textiles, apparel and leather is the fibre-to-fashion chain running from cotton and man-made fibre through spinning, weaving/knitting, garmenting and tanning to footwear, adding about ₹4.2 lakh crore of value (1.3% of national GVA) while employing roughly 23 million people directly (45 million on the wider Ministry of Textiles definition) and exporting US$43.8 billion in FY26. Its GVA share has fallen from 2.5% of national GVA in FY05 to 1.3% today as exports stagnated at US$35-44 billion for a decade while Bangladesh and Vietnam captured China+1 apparel orders that India's fragmented, sub-50-machine garment units could not fill, and domestic value migrated from fabric toward brand and retail margin. The chain is 70% informal by employment, split across a dozen regional clusters, and is the least represented industry in the stock market covered so far (0.8% of market cap versus 1.3% of GVA), because labour rather than capital earns most of the value added. Growth to FY35 hinges on newly opened export markets (UK CETA, EU FTA, reduced US tariffs) lifting exports toward US$85 billion and factory-scale reform, while domestic demand keeps shifting value toward brands and retailers.

Estimated GVA

4.2 ₹ lakh crore (textiles ₹2.2 + apparel ₹1.6 + leather & footwear ₹0.4; 1.3% of national GVA, 9.0% of manufacturing) · FY26

Household clothing & footwear spend

12.6 ₹ lakh crore (PFCE COICOP 03; 6.4% of PFCE) · FY26

Exports

43.8 US$ bn (textiles & apparel US$38.8 bn + leather & footwear ~US$5 bn) · FY26

Imports

~11.5 US$ bn (cotton, MMF yarn & fabric, machinery) · FY26

Employment

~23 / 45 mn (direct / incl. handloom & allied; ~70% informal) · FY26

Listed PAT / market cap

0.06 / ~4.0 ₹ lakh crore (Ace 'Textile' 65x PE + footwear) · FY26

Listed capex

10,191 ₹ crore (6.6% of listed revenue) · FY25

GVA per worker

1.8 ₹ lakh per year (lowest in this Part) · FY26