Textile and Apparel Industry in Telangana
Telangana has a long-established textile tradition dating to the 19th century, when cotton accounted for half of the Hyderabad State's exports and Warangal became the largest carpet exporter to Europe. The region's textile industry has deeper roots still: in 1934, the 7th Nizam established [[Azam Jahi Mills]] in Warangal, which became a major textile production centre employing 10,000 people[^c8]. The Nizam had earlier commissioned Mamnoor Airport in 1930 to support Warangal's industrial base, including the textile mill[^c22]. In the 21st century, the state has pursued a strategy to rebuild its textile and apparel manufacturing sector through industrial policy, infrastructure development, and foreign investment. The government aims to make Telangana "the textile capital of South Asia by 2047"[^c2], with the broader national target of reaching US$100 billion in textile and apparel exports by 2030[^c1].
Telangana is India's third-largest producer of cotton, with an estimated 49.86 lakh bales in 2025-26 accounting for 19.47 percent of national output[^c16]. The state's textile strategy has shifted from raw commodity production toward full value-chain processing — from spinning, weaving, and garmenting to export of finished products[^c15]. In June 2026, the central government exempted cotton import duties for five months to address domestic supply constraints, directly benefiting Telangana's spinning mills and garment manufacturers[^c17]. The state's textile policy framework, built on the earlier Telangana Textile and Apparel Policy (T-TAP) — which expired in August 2022 after its five-year validity — and the central PM MITRA scheme, offers capital subsidies of up to Rs 40 crore for new units, power tariff concessions, and SGST reimbursement[^c3]. The TS-iPASS single-window clearance system is regarded as a key advantage for investors[^c12], and in June 2025 the government announced the integration of AI tools into the system to further enhance efficiency[^c18]. By 2021, the textile sector had accounted for 13.8 percent of all TS-iPASS-generated employment, representing over two lakh jobs[^c19]. In September 2025, the government announced plans to finalise a new textile policy following stakeholder consultations[^c10]. In June 2026, the state implemented a major labour reform that banned cash wage payments, raised minimum wages across all skill categories, and extended wage protections to gig and platform workers[^c11].
The flagship [[Kakatiya Mega Textile Park]] (KMTP) in [[Warangal]], inaugurated in May 2026 as India's first functional PM MITRA Park[^c9], is expected to attract investments of Rs 6,000 crore and generate more than 24,400 direct jobs, with broader estimates exceeding 100,000 including indirect employment[^c23]. Development capital support of up to Rs 500 crore per park is available under the central scheme[^c7]. Air connectivity for the park is progressing: Mamnoor Airport received 953 acres from the state government in January 2026, with a foundation stone laid in June 2026 and operations targeted by end of 2027[^c13].
Major manufacturers including [[Kitex Group]], [[Youngone Corporation]], [[Texport Industries]], [[Page Industries]], and [[Gokaldas Images]] have established production facilities in the state, primarily in [[Warangal]] and [[Sircilla]]. These factories are predominantly export-oriented and employ a workforce that is over 80 percent women. A diverse ecosystem of private label, corporate uniform, and branded t-shirt manufacturers has also developed in and around [[Hyderabad]]. Skill training programs operated by ALEAP-NAIPUNYAM, ATDC, Satya Marg (which has trained over 16,000 women in Khammam since 2007), and other agencies supply trained labour to the growing garment sector, targeting under-educated women and rural youth[^c6]. The state has also launched a Diploma in Handloom and Technology through IIHT Hyderabad and a government tailoring training scheme linked to the 10,000-tailor demand at KMTP.
Despite this growth, the sector faces significant challenges. Telangana ranks 16th among Indian states in textile and apparel exports, well behind traditional hubs such as Tamil Nadu and Gujarat[^c4], with export values showing considerable year-to-year volatility. The traditional powerloom industry in towns like Sircilla has experienced sharp decline, with the number of operational looms falling from 27,000 to approximately 10,000, leading to weaver distress. The handloom sector was significantly impacted by the discontinuation of the Bathukamma Saree Scheme after the 2023 state election — a scheme that had originated from a June 2017 proposal by the Sircilla Mutually Aided Weavers' Cooperative Society and was approved within 11 days[^c20]. It had previously allocated over Rs 300 crore annually and supported 15,000 weaver households. Large-scale government procurement programmes such as the annual Rs 105 crore school uniform order, traditionally stitched by Self-Help Group women, have also been disrupted as the government shifted to centralized private tendering in 2026[^c21]. Implementation of weaver welfare measures has been uneven: a loan waiver scheme announced in March 2025 with Rs 33 crore in sanctioned funds had seen only partial disbursement a year later[^c14]. US tariffs of 50 percent imposed in 2025 have further disrupted exports, causing some textile units to close and leaving an estimated 20,000 workers without work[^c5].