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By: Mr. J. N. Singh Just a decade back, the Indian textile and clothing sector had almost been written off- in fact it was pejoratively called the sunset sector. The erstwhile ugly duckling is now looking very attractive. Indeed the last two years have been a dream run for the Indian textile sector. It has witnessed tremendous growth in raw material, especially cotton; the fabric production is growing at around 10% on an already high base and the all-around investment in the sector has been unprecedented in the Indian textile history. Any study of the prospects of the textile sector in the years to come necessarily engenders three very pertinent questions. First, what growth target is the Indian industry envisaging in the next five years; second, can the Indian textile industry achieve and sustain this growth and third, what will be the new trends and risk factors in the coming years. Let us first examine, however, the performance of the industry in the last few years.
A. Recent Performance of the Textile and Clothing Sector
Raw Material Growth
The raw material situation has been extremely encouraging especially in cotton and from a low of 101.5 lakh bales (170 kg) in 1984-85 we are expecting a figure of 270 lakh bales in 2006-7. There is reasonable price stability and no more uncertainty related to imports. 
The position has improved even in Man Made Fibres. A reduction of excise duty from 16% to 8% in 2006 budget has boosted domestic demand of MMF yarn & fabric. A further rationalization of excise duty will certainly work wonders.
Fabric Production Increase.
The growth in fabric production, which is often seen as an indicator of country's textile prowess, has been very encouraging in the last few years. We experienced a growth of 7% in 2004-5 and now expect a growth of 10% in the current year. 
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