Government was sleeping at wheel: Congress on 'fall' in India's garment exports

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a news report that cited Global Trade Research Initiative data to claim that India's garment exports in 2023-24 stood at $14.5 billion against $15 billion in 2013-14.

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday attacked the government over Bangladesh and Vietnam reportedly overtaking India's garment exports in the last decade, alleging that the Centre was "sleeping at the wheel".

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a news report that cited Global Trade Research Initiative data to claim that India's garment exports in 2023-24 stood at $14.5 billion (Rs 1.21 lakh crore) against $15 billion (Rs 1.25 lakh crore) in 2013-14.

"The FM (finance minister) waxed eloquent on encouraging labour-intensive sectors of the economy to boost job creation. In 2013-14, India's garment exports stood at $15 billion, next only to China. In 2023-24, India's garment exports were lower at $14.5 billion," he said.

"In this last decade, Vietnam and Bangladesh simply zoomed past us. Vietnam's garment exports are more than double, and Bangladesh's more than three times that of India's," the Congress leader said.

This is what the Modi decade did to one of the most employment-intensive of sectors, he said.

"It is clearly and entirely a case of self-strangulation. The Union government was sleeping at the wheel," Ramesh alleged.