India's domestic apparel market, already the fourth-largest in the world, is projected to grow from US $95.7 billion in CY2025 to US $146.3 billion by CY2029, according to a report released by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) in association with market research firm 1Lattice.

That trajectory works out to a compound annual growth rate of 9% over the four-year window — a pace that would add more than US $50 billion in annual domestic apparel demand by the end of the decade.

What does the growth mean for suppliers?

For India's apparel manufacturers, the projection signals a domestic demand base expanding faster than most export markets. Factories that have leaned on overseas order books now face a home market large enough to absorb significant incremental capacity.

The figures come from CMAI, the industry body representing Indian clothing manufacturers, together with 1Lattice, the market research firm that compiled the data. The report was released without a disclosed breakdown of segment-level figures in the initial announcement.

How solid are the numbers?

The $95.7 billion CY2025 baseline and the $146.3 billion CY2029 forecast are the two confirmed anchor figures. Both rest on CMAI and 1Lattice's own methodology rather than an independently audited dataset, so sourcing teams should treat the 9% CAGR as an industry-side projection rather than a measured result.

The report also indicates the market is being reshaped by rising forces within the sector, though the announcement did not detail the specific drivers behind that restructuring.

For brands weighing India as both a sourcing hub and a consumption market, the projection adds a domestic-demand argument on top of the country's established export manufacturing base — a combination few other production centres can match at this scale.