India should become self-sufficient in the manufacture of textile machinery, said the Union Minister for Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution in Coimbatore on Thursday.

Speaking at the Asian Textile Conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry and SIMA 90 Years Celebration, he said the (proposed) Free Trade Agreement with the UK would enable the textile industry in Coimbatore to capture the markets that had once taken away business from here. India should also become a supplier of high-quality textile machinery. A trade agreement with countries such as Switzerland, Norway, etc. would enable the manufacturers of machinery in India to collaborate with businesses in those countries and manufacture the machinery in India.

India is a $3.7 trillion economy now, and even with the current rate of growth, it would be able to cross $30 trillion by 2047. “The world is seeing the potential of a new India,” he added.

Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Union Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, said, “Let us all put our efforts together to make the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi true of making India the third largest economy in the world.”