India’s apparel manufacturers are expanding into Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh to access lower labour costs, improve worker availability and benefit from state subsidies.

According to a report by Mint, rising wages and labour shortages in established manufacturing centres are encouraging companies to explore new production locations.

Traditional garment hubs such as the National Capital Region (NCR), Bengaluru, Tiruppur and Chennai face increasing pressure from labour costs and worker availability. Newer locations offer access to local workers and potentially lower operating costs.

Listed companies, including Pearl Global Industries, Page Industries, Gokaldas Exports and KPR Mill, have expanded their manufacturing operations into these states.

The shift could support the development of new garment manufacturing clusters. State incentives and access to local labour are becoming important factors in companies’ location decisions.

India’s textile and apparel industry employs around 45 million people and contributes approximately 2% to the country’s GDP, according to the supplied report.