An ESG (environmental, social and governance) Task Force in the Textiles sector will be created keeping in mind India's commitment towards sustainability, said Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Commerce and Industry during soft launch of e-commerce website of Ministry of Textiles dedicated to handloom and handicrafts in Rajkot, Gujarat today.

The event was a part of ‘Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam’ in which Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel also participated.

During two days event in Somnath and Rajkot, the Union Minister attended the Chintan Shivir in which along with officers from the Ministry of Textiles, deliberations on various aspects of the sector was done.

Speaking on the occasion, Goyal said there has been fruitful discussions for making textile sector more vibrant. He added that the some of the manufacturers & exporters are ensuring twice the value upon receiving Environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance certification.

Efforts are being made to ensure this certification for more manufacturers & exporters.

He also talked about the export target of USD 100 Billion for textile sector by 2030 and overall target of USD 250 Billion for textile sector by 2030.

He said that five commitments of PM Narendra Modi also includes that we have to go back to our roots to progress with confidence. 

He said that both Tamil Nadu and Gujarat are connected with history and culture but are also connected due to having strong traditional and modern Textile sector.

He said that due to strong belief of PM in ‘Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat’, ‘Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam’ is being organized in Gujarat. A large number of women from Tamil Nadu reached the state. He said that he interacted with them and found that they were excited and joyous.

The Union Minister said that it reflects that the cultural heritage of our country is in Unity. He said that ‘Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam’ is an effort to unify India.

Goyal said that the two days Chintan Shivir various subjects related to Textiles sector like Technical Textile, Cotton Textile, Sustainability, how to increase and better production of farmers, how to better branding of cotton were discussed.

During the ‘Textiles Conclave’ held under the aegis of Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi during 14th-15th December, chaired by Hon'ble Minister of Textiles, it was decided to constitute a Textile Advisory Group- an informal body- to deliberate and recommend on the issues pertaining to the development and expansion of MMF value chain.

Accordingly, the TAG on MMF was constituted vide Ministry of Textiles’ OM dated 17th January 2023.

TAG comprises stakeholders of MMF value chain including:

• •  Industry Associations including Association of Synthetic Fibre Industry (ASFI), Association of Man-Made fibre industry of India (AMFIl),Chemicals& Petro Chemicals Manufactures Association(CPMA)
  • User Industry representatives including Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA), Indian Spinners Association (SIMA)
  •  Textiles Export Promotion Councils includingSynthetic and Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council(SRTEPC) &Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC)
  • Leading domestic manufacturers’/ exporters & users and representatives of Government ministries/ departments.

The first meeting of TAG on MMF was held on 14th February 2023 under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Minister of Textiles.