Textile Market News

The Union Ministry of Heavy Industries has formally rescinded the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Safety (Omnibus Technical Regulation) Order, 2024, effectively removing Quality Control Order (QCO) mandates on imported textile machinery. Effective mid-January 2026, this policy reversal eliminates mandatory BIS certification hurdles that previously threatened to inflate capital expenditure for domestic manufacturers. The decision follows intense industrial advocacy, particularly from the Surat MMF hub, which argued that domestic production of high-speed weaving and open-end spinning machinery remains insufficient to meet the $350 billion sector target by 2030.

Trident Group has commenced a comprehensive Rs 2,000 crore capital expenditure program in Punjab, signaling its commitment to industrial scaling despite the recent departure of Group CFO Rahul Roongta on January 2, 2026. The investment framework allocates Rs 1,500 crore toward the Barnala facility to significantly augment terry towel production capacity and modernize paper manufacturing units. An additional Rs 500 crore is designated for establishing a corporate headquarters and a specialized capacity-building center in Mohali. This strategic expansion is projected to generate 2,000 new jobs, with a commercial focus on integrating semi-skilled rural women into the textile value chain.

India’s textile value chain is grappling with a severe liquidity and competitiveness crunch following the reinstatement of the 11 per cent cotton import duty on January 1. This fiscal headwind arrives as the sector reels from a 50 per cent tariff imposed by the US in August 2025, which has already caused a 28.5 per cent decline in American-bound shipments. With domestic cotton production projected to hit a 20-year low this season, manufacturers warn of an impending raw material deficit that could stall the government’s $100 billion export target by 2030.

Alok Industries has successfully repositioned its synthetic division to neutralize the ‘green premium, and make sustainable textiles economically viable for the mass market. The company has scaled Ciclo-enhanced polyester production to a level where it commands only a 5-10 per cent premium over conventional fibers - a significant drop from the 30 per cent gap seen in previous years. This breakthrough is underpinned by processing 1,500 metric tons of yarn daily across its Silvassa and Vapi hubs, which allows for the absorption of high innovation costs through sheer volume.

Trident Limited has accelerated its global branding strategy by securing complete control of mytrident.com mytrident.com, a move finalized this January to streamline its international direct-to-consumer (D2C) pipeline.

Alok Industries is boosting global presence by divesting 100 per cent of its Czech Republic-based unit, Mileta as, to Crescon for approximately Rs 5 crore. The move enables Alok to consolidate resources into its high-scale Indian facilities in Silvassa and Vapi. Alok is also embedding technical performance directly into the fiber by integrating Reliance Industries’ Recron technologies. The firm has launched graphene-infused high thread-count sheets and dope-dyed yarns that eliminate the need for water-intensive chemical finishes. This ‘scale-plus-innovation’ model addresses a global textile market projected to reach $1.5 trillion this year.

Ester Loop Infinite Technologies (ELITe) has advanced its industrial-scale chemical recycling project by securing a multi-year offtake agreement with Nike, positioning the athletic giant as the anchor customer for its upcoming Gujarat facility.