174 textile MSMEs shut down in J&K in three years: GoI

New Delhi, Aug 11: As many as 174 textile-sector MSME units in Jammu and Kashmir were reported to have shut down between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2026, affecting 886 workers, while six such units were reported closed in Ladakh, impacting 27 workers, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Textiles Pabitra Margherita gave the information in a written reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3864, raised by Mohibbullah, who sought details of textile and ready-made garment exports, the impact of rising input costs and global demand slowdown, closure of textile MSMEs, funds under textile cluster development schemes and measures being taken to improve exports and support the industry.
According to the Ministry of Textiles, 7,894 textile MSME units across the country were reported to have shut down during the three-year period from April 2023 to March 2026.
The Ministry said that 24,73,634 textile-sector MSMEs were registered on the Udyam Portal during the same period, while a total of 36,00,012 textile MSMEs were registered and active on the portal as on March 31, 2026.
The reported closures constituted around 0.32 per cent of the total textile MSMEs registered during the last three years, the Ministry said.
As per the State/UT-wise data, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 174 textile MSME closures with employment of 886, while Ladakh recorded six closures involving 27 workers during the period under review.
The Centre also informed the House that under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP), a component of the Textile Cluster Development Scheme, a project in J&K was approved at Rs 39.70 crore, against which Rs 35.73 crore of the Government of India share was released and utilised.
The Ministry said the SITP was implemented to help the Indian textile industry become globally competitive through environmentally friendly processing standards and technology. The scheme has now been subsumed under the Textile Cluster Development Scheme for completion of ongoing projects.
The Ministry said India’s exports of textiles and apparel, including handicrafts, increased from Rs 2,49,250 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 3,25,339 crore in 2025-26, registering a compound annual growth rate of about 4.5 per cent during the period.
It said textile and ready-made garments, including handicrafts, were exported from 548 districts across the country during 2025-26.
The government has taken several measures to support the sector, including temporary exemption from customs duty on cotton imports from June 1 to October 31, 2026, exemption from customs duties on key inputs in the man-made fibre value chain and rationalisation of GST rates in the MMF value chain.
The Ministry further said various schemes, including PM MITRA Parks, Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Textiles, National Technical Textiles Mission and SAMARTH, are being implemented to strengthen the competitiveness of the textile and apparel sector and support MSMEs. (KNO)