The textile & apparel sector of Jammu & Kashmir continues to grow steadily and has established itself as one of the crucial employment-generating sectors in the state, strengthening its foothold in the domestic and export markets. According to the latest official data, the sector has grown in leaps and bounds in the last few years, with employment generated touching the mark of 2.3 lakh workers and export earnings exceeding 850 crore in the FY 2015-16.
The growth indicates a rising favor towards traditional crafts, contemporary textile manufacturing, skill enhancement programs and export-driven production. Government sponsored schemes for enhancement of handloom, handicrafts, sericulture, woollen processing and technical textiles have contributed substantially towards the sector's performance.
Employment in the Textile Sector Continues to Rise
The textile and clothing industry is perhaps the most significant in terms of employment generation in Jammu & Kashmir. As per the current estimates, the employment generated in the textiles and clothing industry is over 2.31 lakh in the UT.
There has been an upward trend in employment generation in the sector for the last three years. From an employment of nearly 1.97 lakh in 2021-22, it increased to about 2.27 lakh in 2022-23. It further increased to above 2.31 lakh in 2023-24.
This trend strengthens the role of textile manufacturing, crafts, garments, handloom, embroidery, silk and wool-based industries in supporting livelihoods of the entire region.
Thousands of artisans, weavers, designers, dyers, embroiderers and small entrepreneurs are still being supported by expanding market opportunities and government-assisted development programmes.
Export Performance Reaches a New Milestone
The export performance of the textile sector from Jammu & Kashmir has improved further. The products made in the UT including handicrafts and other textile products have found markets abroad.
In financial year 2025-26, the export of textiles & clothing was nearly 857 crore which shows the highest exports in the last three years.
Initial numbers show exports of around 735 crore in 2023-24 and then over 781 crore in 2024-25. A year-on-year consistent growth reflects the high levels of competitiveness of products from Jammu & Kashmir.
Existing export products, including handloom and other woven fabrics, embroidered samples, woollen goods, silk products, and other handicrafts, also play an important role in earning foreign exchange and maintaining cultural heritage.
Government Expands Support Through Multiple Development Programmes
The additional growth of the textile industry has been supported by several key government initiatives aimed at strengthening different areas of the value chain.
A number of flagship programmes are already assisting in several textile categories, such as:
- National Handloom Development Programme
- National Handicrafts Development Programme
- Silk Samagra-2
- SAMARTH
- Integrated Wool Development Programme
- National Technical Textiles Mission
The program covers various needs of the industry, including improving production, developing infrastructure, and imparting skills, providing marketing support, offering raw material for production, introducing technologies, etc.
All these efforts are directed to enhance productivity and to generate more attractive income options for artisans, weavers, farmers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and others involved in various textile related pursuits.
Increased Public Investment Supports Sectoral Development
Government spending on developing textiles has risen significantly lately.
The actual figures of expenditure show the allocation of about 3,059 crore in the textile sector for 2023-24. This has remained at almost 2,998 crore during 2024-25 and then sharply increased to 5,540 crore during 2025-26.
Further financial allocation is indicative of persistent policy focus on revitalisation of India's textile ecosystem, which comprises major clusters of traditional textile production in Jammu & Kashmir.
Increased investment should lead to improvements in the infrastructure, boost production capacity, facilitate innovation and support the application of advanced manufacturing processes as an additional complement to traditional craftsmanship.
Handloom and Handicrafts Remain Central to Regional Economy
The textile economy of Jammu & Kashmir, which depends mainly on the cultivation of handloom and handloom weaving with handicraft production, provides substantial employment and contributes to a considerable share in the central excise revenue.
The area is known for its high quality handmade goods, which are cherished both locally and internationally. This tradition has been passed down for many generations of artisans, who are continually updating the market with new designs.
All these traditional industries are to be strengthened through government support programmes so as to make available quality raw material in desired forms to traditional industries, and to provide tools and arrangements for design development and marketing.
This enables artisans to increase their productivity and still be able to have a commercially sustainable traditional craft.
Skill Development Programmes Create New Opportunities
Skill development is an important area of the rise of the textile sector.
Training programmes launched under various schemes such as SAMARTH are implemented to provide skills to both new and existing workers. Such training programmes focus on increasing employability for specific sectors such as textile, apparel and other related industries.
Additional placement-oriented training facilities enable interfacing the units with organized manufacturing units as well as micro, small and medium units operating in the entire textile value chain.
Enhanced training system leading to improved productivity, qualitative standards as well as competitiveness of home and export markets.
Silk and Wool Industries Receive Continued Support
In addition to the handloom and garment sector, sericulture and products from wool are also being promoted by the government.
Silk Samagra-2 aims for the promotion of silk and to strengthen silk production activities, support the development of sericulture activities/ise, infrastructure, and increase productivity.
The Integrated Wool Development Programme also has the objective to enhance production, processing, and marketing of wool with community-based sheep farmers and organizations involved in wool- based industry.
These can be sources for income in the countryside and can also diversify job opportunities away from the traditional agricultural sector.
Focus on Infrastructure and Market Access
An increase in production is not the sole indicator of industry growth.
Government policies focus heavily on developing improved infrastructure and access to markets for producers.
Support measures encompass developing production plants, enhancing general infrastructure, encouraging participation in exhibitions and trade fairs, advancing branding programs, and broadening domestic and foreign market connectivity.
Better market access allows artisans and manufacturers to increase sales by expanding market reach and raising the commercial value of the products manufactured in Jammu & Kashmir.
Growing Confidence Among Industry Stakeholders
The consistent increase in jobs and exports indicates an increasing confidence by producers/expo rters/artisans/invest ors of the textile industry.
With more institutional support, better skill enhancement, rising investment and increasing export markets this sector has started emerging as an increasingly important sector for economic development of the Union Territory.
Participants in the industry think that increased policy support, investments in infrastructure, acquiring advanced technologies and opening markets at the international level would stimulate growth even more in the near future.
Outlook for the Textile Industry
Latest indicators show the positive growth path of the textile industry in Jammu & Kashmir.
Growing employment, expanding exports, more public investment and continued backing to older enterprises can be seen as a careful mixture of preserving older industries and investing in new ones.
With the government initiatives giving a new boost to the handloom, handicrafts, silk, wool and technical textiles, the sector will generate further employment opportunities and contribute to the economic development of the region.
Given sustained focus on quality, innovation, skill development and export competitiveness, the textile industry in j&k seems well placed to build on the gains already made and become an even stronger part of India's overall textile sector.
