Textiles minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has said that given its employment and export intensity, the apparel industry plays a significant role in realizing the vision of ‘Make in India’. He was inaugurating the 55th India International Garment Fair, 2015 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, yesterday.

Gangwar said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government has laid a renewed emphasis on boosting manufacturing, growing exports and generating more employment. He cited the successful example of the textile industry of Gujarat and said that the textiles ministry is working hard to take Indian textile industry to a higher level on the global stage.

The IIGF is India’s largest garment show in South Asia, covering apparel and fashion accessories. More than 400 exhibitors from across the country showcased their products and best collections at three-day event.

Textile secretary, Sanjay Kumar Panda, who was also present, said under the leadership of the Prime Minister, the textile ministry has been laying a strong emphasis on skill, scale and speed, in order to improve production, exports and employment.

Speaking on the occasion, AEPC chairman, Virender Uppal, informed that the fair attracted 305 buyers from across the globe, of which 202 were from traditional markets and 103 from non-traditional markets. This is an indication that buyers have started showing faith and viewed India to be a safe destination for sourcing garments.

He said India’s apparel exports in dollar terms for April-March of FY 2014-15 had increased by 12.3 per cent over the same period of previous FY and reached 16,846 million US Dollar. Readymade garment (RMG) export was to the tune of 1568.5 million US Dollar in May 2015, an increase of 5.1 per cent against that of May 2014 which was 1492.4 million US Dollar. India’s RMG export for the period of April-May 2015-’16 (cumulative) was to the tune of  3012.7 million US Dollar, 7% higher than that of the same period previous year.