Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday, 21 July 2026, spotlighted Radhe Krishna Cotweaving of Kishangarh, Rajasthan, as a model of how traditional weaving clusters can scale globally by embracing sustainable fibres and institutional support.

In a post on X, the Minister wrote: 'राधे कृष्णा कॉटवीविंग ने यह साबित किया है कि नई सोच और सही सहयोग से परंपरागत उद्योग भी नई ऊंचाइयों तक पहुंच सकते हैं' — ('Radhe Krishna Cotweaving has proved that with fresh thinking and the right support, traditional industries can also reach new heights.') He credited collaboration with ITADC Kishangarh for the development of hemp-cotton and JUCO (jute-cotton) blended fabrics that, he said, meet international standards and open new possibilities in global markets for Indian textiles.

Context

Kishangarh, a town in Rajasthan's Ajmer district, hosts a dense cluster of traditional weaving and textile manufacturing units. The town has historically been associated with fabric processing and dyeing, making it a natural candidate for government-backed modernisation efforts. The Minister's post, hashtagged #SustainableTextiles, #Innovation, #MakeInIndia, and #Sustainability, signals official attention to the cluster's export potential.

Policy Backdrop

The post aligns with two major central government programmes. The Make in India initiative, launched in September 2014, has consistently identified textiles as a priority sector for boosting domestic production and export competitiveness. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles, announced in 2021, further incentivised investment in man-made fibres and technical textiles to modernise India's manufacturing base.

Blending traditional natural fibres — jute, cotton — with emerging sustainable inputs such as hemp reflects a broader policy direction: meeting rising global buyer demand for eco-certified, traceable fabrics while keeping artisan and MSME units at the centre of the supply chain. India has progressively aligned its textile export promotion frameworks with international environmental standards to capture premium market segments in Europe and North America.

Stakeholders and Impact

The immediate beneficiaries of this model are traditional weavers and MSME textile exporters in the Kishangarh cluster, who gain access to institutional technical assistance and a product range that commands higher value in overseas markets. Hemp-cotton and JUCO blends are increasingly sought after by global fashion and home-textile brands looking to reduce their environmental footprint, giving smaller Indian units a viable entry point into premium export categories.

For the broader sector, a replicable cluster model — where a state-level agency such as ITADC co-develops sustainable product lines with local units — could serve as a template for other traditional weaving towns across Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, where jute and cotton weaving have deep roots.

What's Next

The Ministry of Textiles is expected to pursue further rollout of sustainable fibre clusters as part of anticipated revisions to the National Textile Policy, with upcoming parliamentary sessions likely to provide a platform for formalising such frameworks. Whether the Kishangarh model attracts dedicated funding under existing schemes or a new cluster-development window will be closely watched by industry bodies and state governments alike.

If the hemp-cotton and JUCO product lines from Kishangarh demonstrate sustained export traction, they could strengthen India's positioning in the fast-growing global sustainable textiles market and lend momentum to the government's broader push for eco-compliant 'Made in India' fabrics.