Senior Bihar BJP MP Giriraj Singh, who retained the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat, on recently took charge as the Union Textiles Minister in the new Modi Government. Singh has replaced Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who retained the Commerce and Industry Ministry after winning the North Mumbai Lok Sabha seat.
As the Minister for Textiles, Singh is facing the challenge of facilitating the revival of exports from the sector, which registered a de-growth of 3.24 per cent to USD 34.4 billion in 2023-24 compared to USD 35.5 billion in FY23. In 2021-22, outward shipments of textiles and apparel were recorded at over USD 41 billion.
“The country’s textile sector has the maximum potential to create jobs. It also has a sizeable share in global exports. In the coming days, we will perform as per the country’s aspirations under the Prime Minister’s guidance because this sector is also linked to the farmer…I believe that the textile sector will play a crucial role in employment creation in the present and future as well,” the minister said while speaking to reporters after assuming the charge.
Singh retained the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar by a reduced margin of over 81,480 votes. He had shifted to Begusarai in 2019, giving up his sitting seat of Nawada, and defeated former JNU students’ union leader and CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar by a staggering margin of over 4 lakh votes. In this election, the Left party fielded former MLA Abdhesh Kumar Roy, who garnered 5.67 lakh votes against 6.49 lakh secured by the BJP incumbent.
As a member of the last Lok Sabha, he became the cabinet minister of the newly formed Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. Later, he was shifted to the rural development ministry. Now, he has been made the minister for textiles.
The textile industry has around 45 million workers employed, including 3.5 million handloom workers. India is the world’s second-largest producer of textiles and garments. It is also the sixth-largest exporter of textiles, spanning apparel, home and technical products.
The country has a 4 per cent share of the global trade in textiles and apparel. The textiles and apparel industry contributes 2.3 per cent to the country’s GDP, 13 per cent to industrial production and 12 per cent to exports.
