The Tamil Nadu textile industry has called for investment under the Production Linked Incentive Scheme

Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh. Photo credit: SIVA SARAVANAN S

Tamil Nadu’s textile and apparel industry should take advantage of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the technical textiles and man-made fiber sector for which the Union government has allocated ₹11,000 crore, Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh said in Tiruppur on Sunday.

Addressing a meeting organized by the Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), he said that the Center has relaxed norms for PLI scheme to encourage investment in technical textiles and MMF sector.

“As for the new plans planned by the ministry, some have gone to the cabinet and others will follow – they are designed to be pro-industry. We have considered everything – machinery, employment and other aspects. I hope the state and the center will work together,” he said.

The Minister also urged the industry to look into investing in states where labor is available.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, silk production stood at 26,000 tonnes a year. Now it is 43,000 tons and by 2030 it will be 60,000 tons. India should export more silk-based garments that are blended with other fibers, he added.

A. Sakthivel, chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council, said that the textile ministry is introducing new initiatives every two months and all the seven PM MITRA parks are now operational.

According to KM Subramanian, president of TEA, the government should look at the timely implementation of the Textile Expansion and Employment Scheme (TEEM) and extend the benefits under rebate on state and central taxes and levies for another three years.

Later, the minister held talks with textile machinery manufacturers and had a meeting with South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) officials in Coimbatore. In response to the demand for extension of benefits under the TEEM scheme for cotton spinning and ginning machines, the industry has asked for details for the ministry to study.

The industry in Tamil Nadu should focus on tripling exports, he said, calling for investment in the manufacture of domestic machinery for the knitting, weaving and processing sectors.

The minister also inaugurated a GM testing laboratory for cotton and materials derived from cotton at SITRA. The laboratory will meet the growing need for traceability, quality assurance and compliance in the global cotton trade. It will help exporters meet the requirements of environmental standards such as GOTS and OCS, which mandate quality screening of GM cotton.

The laboratory received NABL accreditation in a recent evaluation.

Published – 28 Jun 2026 21:51 IST