India Appoints New Textile Minister

The Indian government re-shuffled its Cabinet on July 12, and one of the primary changes was the appointment of Anand Sharma as the Minister of Textiles. Sharma is also the current Minister for Commerce and Industry. The previous Textile Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, submitted his resignation on July 7, one day after India’s Central Crime Investigating Agency made public his involvement in the 2G spectrum telecom scandal. That charges relate to Maran’s activities while he was the Telecommunications Minister of India, the post he held before becoming the Minister of Textiles. His resignation was expected due to heavy pressure from opposition parties. 

Sharma, who will now be handling the responsibilities of the Ministry of Textiles in addition to Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is a champion of free trade and has opposed government-established limits on the export of cotton. Sources say it will be very interesting to see how he handles cotton and yarn export policies, due to his leadership role in Ministries that sometimes have conflicting interests.