3 min readMumbaiFeb 4, 2026 11:00 PM IST Even as the US has agreed to reduce tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, reactions from Bhiwandi’s textile market have been cautious, with powerloom owners saying the cut still leaves duties well above earlier levels and the impact on their business remains uncertain. Bhiwandi was a thriving powerloom hub with a report from the National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NI-MSME) stating that as many as 12 lakh powerlooms alone were situated in Bhiwandi with its industry’s turnover estimated at Rs 10,000 crore annually. Having transitioned from traditional handlooms, the powerlooms in Bhiwandi spin yarn to churn out raw material, known as grey cloth in local parlance, which is later sent across merchants and centres for finished textile products. However, in the recent past, the total number of powerlooms in Bhiwandi has dwindled below 4 lakh owing to the blows dealt to the unorganised industry by demonetisation, followed by immediate implementation of GST and high power tariffs. The sharp …