ET World Leaders Forum: Madhya Pradesh’s textile/garment industry a potential export/employment generation powerhouse

The central district of Madhya Pradesh (MP), often referred to as the heart of India, is taking a slew of policy measures to tap the potential that the state’s textile and garment industry has to offer in domains of export, investments, and employment generation.

“There is an added focus on creating large-scale opportunities for women in the process,” John Kingsly IAS, Secretary, Industries, Government of Madhya Pradesh, said as he spoke at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum-2026, held on August 21-22 in the national capital.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, also addressed the Forum, asserting that the world was looking at India as a “bright spot of growth and hope”. Modi stressed that the country’s reform journey has shifted from “punishment” to “incentives” approach.


Kingsly outlined Madhya Pradesh’s outlook and strategy towards strengthening the textile and garment industry, during the panel discussion titled, “Weaving The Future, Building An Integrated Textile Value Chain in MP.” He said that the state’s share in India’s garment exports was only a dismal 4 percent.

“This has prompted the government to bring in targeted policies. The aim is to attract players/garment manufacturing companies with the potential of employing 2000 to 10,000 people at once,” he said, “We want to create an ecosystem, where our smaller local manufacturers and MSMEs are also able to learn from the larger players,”

Kingsley said that the government’s objective is to empower the smaller, local players so that they start looking at expanding, and contribute to India’s garment exports rather than being confined to the domestic market.

One of the key milestones, towards achieving this goal, has been the PM Mitra Park. The government has allocated 2000 acres of land, to a committed garment and textile facility.

Kingsley said that the park has already attracted a commitment of investments exceeding 25000 Crore Rupees. “And has the potential to generate more investments in coming months and years,” he said, “The Park will also be able to generate over a 1,00,000 jobs,”

The Madhya Pradesh government is also “incentivising employment generation”, in sync with the “incentives approach” the Prime Minister spoke about during his address. The state government, recognising that garment manufacturing is labour intensive, has decided to provide companies access to labour training, and in some cases continued employment and wage assistance, Kingsly maintained.

“Formalisation is being encouraged. The government is ensuring that the workers receive benefits, including provident fund as well as structured training,” he said, adding that the “labour classifications” are being adapted to better reflect the requirements of modern garment factories.

Kingsly said that the companies are able to establish clear employment structures, and improve compliance, after the government has categorised the workforce into stitchers, sewers, and more.

Steps, he said, are also being taken towards integration of smaller units and MSMEs with larger companies by developing a distributed model of textile and garment manufacturing. “The integration will create interdependence and sustainability.”

Policy support, infrastructure and workforce development is what Madhya Pradesh is banking on to achieve transformation of its textile and garment industry. The sector has the potential to be an export and employment powerhouse.