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Curriculum Textiles and Clothing in India

Textiles and Clothing in India

From cotton field to shop shelf: how India's textile and apparel industry works, why it employs so many people, the clusters that power it, competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam, and policies to help it grow.

  1. From Cotton to Kurta: The Textile Value Chain The stages that turn raw fibre into finished clothing - fibre, yarn, fabric, processing and garments - and where value is added at each step. 📄 Read-aloud
  2. Why Textiles Matter for Jobs Why the textile and apparel industry is one of India's largest employers, especially for women and rural workers, and why labour-intensive industries matter for development. 📄 Read-aloud
  3. Tiruppur, Surat and India's Textile Clusters How textile production is concentrated in clusters like Tiruppur, Surat, Ludhiana and Panipat, and why firms benefit from being close together. 📄 Read-aloud
  4. Cotton vs Synthetics: The Fibre Question Why the world has shifted towards polyester and other man-made fibres, why India's industry leaned on cotton, and what this means for competitiveness. 📄 Read-aloud
  5. Cotton Farmers and Bt Cotton How cotton farming works in India, how Bt cotton changed yields, and the problems of pink bollworm, prices and rain-dependence. 📄 Read-aloud
  6. Bangladesh and Vietnam: India's Garment Rivals How Bangladesh and Vietnam became garment export giants, why India's garment exports lagged, and what lessons India can learn. 📄 Read-aloud
  7. Textiles and Clothing in India: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on the textile value chain, jobs, clusters, fibres and rival exporters. 5 questions
  8. PM MITRA Parks and the Textile PLI How the government's mega textile parks and production-linked incentives aim to build scale and attract investment in textiles. 📄 Read-aloud
  9. Technical Textiles: Fabrics That Do a Job What technical textiles are - from airbags to geotextiles and medical gowns - and why they are a fast-growing, higher-value opportunity. 📄 Read-aloud
  10. Powerlooms: The Middle of the Industry How India's millions of small powerlooms produce much of its fabric, why many use old technology, and the struggle to modernise. 📄 Read-aloud
  11. The Hidden Cost of Colour: Dyeing and Pollution Why textile dyeing is one of the most polluting stages, how rivers like the Noyyal suffered, and how treatment and zero-discharge rules work. 📄 Read-aloud
  12. How Global Brands Choose Suppliers How global clothing brands pick factories based on cost, speed, quality and compliance, and why Indian suppliers must meet all four. 📄 Read-aloud
  13. The Future of Indian Textiles Where India's textile and apparel industry could go next - scale, synthetics, sustainability and brands - and a recap of the module. 📄 Read-aloud

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