Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar in his written reply to Lok Sabha mentioned that the export of textiles for the current financial year (2015-16) targeting a growth of 14 percent has been fixed at USD 47.5 billion from actual exports of USD 41.6 billion in 2014-15, parliament was told on Thursday.

He also said that the government is encouraging exports through Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), which has recently been modified to include the markets of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

On technology upgradation in the sector, there is a budget provision of Rs.1,520.79 crore under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme for 2015-16, out of which Rs.437.58 crore have been released till date. Request has been made for increasing the outlay.

The textile industry occupies a unique place in our country. One of the earliest to come into existence in India, it accounts for 14% of the total Industrial production, contributes to nearly 30% of the total exports and is the second largest employment generator after agriculture.