Union Textiles Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday, 26 May 2026 pushed back sharply against opposition criticism of India's textile sector, asserting that the country has expanded its Free Trade Agreement network from 10 FTAs at the time of the 2014 general elections to 18 FTAs today, connecting India with 56 countries, and that the garment sector now has a presence in 180 countries.

Context

Posting on X, Giriraj Singh said: 'वैश्विक चुनौतियों के बीच विपक्ष ने टेक्सटाइल सेक्टर को लेकर सिर्फ भ्रम फैलाया।' ['Amid global challenges, the opposition has only spread confusion about the textile sector.'] He argued that the numbers tell a different story, citing the expansion of India's FTA network and the widening global footprint of Indian garment exports as evidence of a deliberate trade-diversification strategy.

The minister framed the growth as the direct result of what he called 'Diversification', connecting it to the broader Atmanirbhar Bharat framework — the self-reliance initiative launched in May 2020 — which has positioned textiles and apparel as a priority export sector.

Policy Backdrop

India's FTA journey predates the current government: the India-ASEAN FTA, signed in 2009 and operationalised in 2010, was among the country's earliest significant regional trade agreements. Since 2014, the pace of new agreements has accelerated, with deals concluded with partners including the UAE and Australia, aimed at reducing tariff barriers and opening new export corridors for labour-intensive sectors like textiles and garments.

The Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, announced in 2020, added production-linked incentive schemes for textiles and apparel, designed to strengthen domestic value chains while simultaneously making Indian manufacturers more competitive in global markets. The combination of PLI support and expanded FTA access has been the government's stated twin-track approach for the sector.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of this trade expansion are textile exporters and garment manufacturers, particularly those in export-oriented clusters across states such as Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. A wider FTA network reduces tariff costs for Indian exporters competing against rivals from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Cambodia in markets such as the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The minister's claim that Indian garments now reach 180 countries signals a broadening of the export base beyond traditional high-value markets, which industry bodies have long advocated as a risk-mitigation strategy against demand shocks in any single geography. Opposition parties have questioned whether export volumes and unit realisations have kept pace with the expansion of destination markets.

What's Next

Attention in the trade policy space is on the progress of pending FTA negotiations, particularly the India-EU and India-UK agreements, both of which carry significant implications for the textile and apparel sector given the size and purchasing power of those markets. Quarterly export data from the Commerce Ministry will be closely watched to assess whether the diplomatic gains from expanded FTAs are translating into measurable export growth. Giriraj Singh's post signals that the government intends to make the FTA expansion a central plank of its defence of its economic record heading into the next political cycle.