The Indian textile industry can become a $300 billion industry by 2030 and can create an additional 35 million jobs, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),Tamil Nadu State Council Vice Chairman Hari Thiagarajan said.

This can be achieved if the industry enhanced its focus on exporting higher value added products, modernisation and sustainable business practices, Thiagarajan said at the Second Edition of Weaves 2019, organised at Erode.

Synthetic fabrics and performance garments are going to be the two most promising segments, he said.

The industry accounted for 5 percent of India’s gross domestic product and 13 percent of the country’s export earnings and employed about 50 million people.

Chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CII), T Rajkumar said though global recession was a main factor for the setbacks faced by the industry, imports of yarns, fabrics, and garments from Bangladesh and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation region pose a major threat to the local industry.

Weaves 2019, a premier textile fair in the South, is a four-day exhibition and conference, organised by Texvalley in association with the CII.