Arvind's New Varanasi Plant Could Employ 1,000 Textile Workers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Arvind Limited's new garment manufacturing facility at Khochwan in Mirzamurad, Varanasi on 25 October, and the plant is expected to employ 1,000 women. More than 300 of them are already recruited and undergoing training at the site. For Metaintro readers in Varanasi and the wider Purvanchal region, this guide covers what the plant makes, how much is being invested, how Uttar Pradesh sets factory pay and where Arvind lists vacancies.

What Did Arvind Open in Varanasi on Sunday?

The unit is Arvind Limited's first major manufacturing plant in Purvanchal, the eastern belt of Uttar Pradesh. It stands along National Highway 19 in Khochwan (Bhadhera) village, near the Rupapur intersection in Mirzamurad, on a site sized at between approximately seven acres and more than eight acres. Work on the site began with the groundbreaking ceremony held on April 25, 2024.

The opening was set for around 11 AM on 25 October 2026, ahead of the Indian Air Force display at Namo Ghat later that day. The unit is a predominantly women-led initiative meant to link products made in Varanasi to international markets through Arvind Limited's global customer base.

At the opening, Modi spoke with company officials about the garments produced, the fabrics used and the manufacturing process, and talked with women employees about their duties and the challenges they face at work. The interaction ran under the theme Apna Hunar, Apni Pehchan, or Your Skill, Your Identity, and he toured an exhibition showcasing the various fabrics produced by Arvind Mills, after asking about the types of fabrics made at the mill, including those made from Khadi. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and CM Yogi Adityanath were present at the inauguration, which went ahead as scheduled on Sunday.

Who Is Arvind, and Why Build in Varanasi?

Arvind was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Ahmedabad, and it works across fabrics, denim, apparel and specialised textiles. Its businesses today also include retail, advanced materials, environmental solutions and communication platforms, with textiles and apparel serving high-fashion brands across the world.

The facility is meant to strengthen India's textile and apparel manufacturing ecosystem and promote industrial growth in the region, with a focus on modern manufacturing practices and meaningful employment opportunities, particularly for women. The opening also comes as Uttar Pradesh seeks to attract more manufacturing investment beyond its established industrial centres.

Varanasi is one of the clusters where India's silk is produced mainly on handlooms and jacquard looms. The new plant is expected to strengthen the textile and garment manufacturing ecosystem in Uttar Pradesh, particularly across the Purvanchal region.

How Many Jobs Will the Plant Create, and Who Is Being Hired?

The full headcount is a target. The company plans to expand the workforce from more than 300 trainees to 1,000 women.

Local women come first. The facility has prioritised local women in its recruitment process, a point also made in a statement from the Uttar Pradesh government. Hiring is also expected to reach beyond the city, with jobs for people not only from Varanasi but also from the broader Purvanchal region.

The first trainees were in place before the opening, and Uttar Pradesh's chief minister spoke with the women undergoing training when he inspected the unit ahead of the visit. Arvind has not published a role list, shift pattern or wage for the Varanasi jobs.

The actual scale of employment generated will become clearer as further operational details emerge, according to Open Magazine's preview of the visit.

How Much Is Arvind Investing in the Varanasi Plant?

Two figures are in circulation. The first-phase facility represents an investment of approximately ₹1.5 billion (about $15.7 million), the same figure carried by the opening-day coverage.

The lower figure is a proposed total investment of ₹1 billion (about $10.5 million), from an ANI story filed during the chief minister's inspection of the site.

What Will the Varanasi Plant Make, and for Which Brands?

The unit will also manufacture sportswear and undergarments, on top of apparel, garments and human protection fabrics under the central government's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The plant is expected to supply leading domestic and international brands, including Jockey, US Polo Assn. and Arrow.

Arvind's garment arm serves jeans, shirts, knits and essentials across fashion cycles and consumer segments through an integrated, multi-location manufacturing setup. That arm is part of the company's Fibre-to-Fashion platform, which pairs fabric making with garment production to offer end-to-end manufacturing solutions to leading global and domestic apparel brands. Its stated plan is to grow garments by expanding capacity in a disciplined manner, improving productivity, increasing automation and raising the share of its own fabric that is converted into garments.

Company-wide, Arvind uses automated material handling systems, including overhead conveyors that streamline garment movement across production stages, together with digitally connected workstations enabling real-time monitoring of each process step. That setup is meant to bring improved line balancing and workflow efficiency and reduced dependencies on manual movement and handling inefficiencies across its operations.

How Does Uttar Pradesh Set Factory Pay?

Arvind has not published pay for the Varanasi roles, and the legal floor is set by the state. In April, Uttar Pradesh approved an interim minimum wage revision effective from April 1, 2026, with monthly rates set separately for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers and for three areas, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad, municipal corporation areas and other districts.

Those April rates followed a review by a high-level committee, and at the time the state also planned a wage board to decide long-term minimum wages after consulting workers, employers and other stakeholders. In the same month, the state called reports of a ₹20,000 minimum wage incorrect and misleading (about $210). Discussions were also under way at the time on possible welfare measures such as health support, pensions and education benefits for workers' families.

How Does Varanasi Fit Into Arvind's Wider Business?

Arvind is a large employer already. It had over 31,041 permanent employees and 14,923 contract labour as of March 31, 2026, and that contract headcount puts Arvind inside India's contract workforce. The company puts an emphasis on training and upskilling so that staff are well-versed in the latest advancements in the manufacturing processes and technologies, and its home page counts more than 500,000 total hours of training. Among its business risks, Arvind names employee unrest, operational slowdowns and increased wage costs.

Our operations are human capital intensive, and we are highly dependent on our skilled and unskilled personnel for our business operations, according to Arvind's August placement document.

Arvind's Manufacturing Facilities are primarily concentrated in Gujarat and Karnataka, and the Varanasi unit takes the company into a new geographical area. More than 33% of Arvind's workforce are women, and its CSR work has supported 18,000+ individuals through livelihood and skill-building programmes, with more than 60% women among programme beneficiaries.

Arvind's garmenting division is growing faster than its fabric business, and its first quarter of FY 26-27 brought garment volume of 11 mn+ pcs, with 13% Y-O-Y growth. The same quarter showed consolidated revenue of ₹25.01 billion, reflecting 25% Y-O-Y growth (about $262.5 million), and capex spend of ₹980 million in FY 27 so far (about $10.3 million), on the company's current home page. Profit after tax for the quarter was ₹800 million, with 47% Y-O-Y growth (about $8.4 million).

Is a Second Phase Coming, and How Is It Funded?

Arvind has proposed a second phase of investment to expand the facility, and the plant will expand in two phases. Work on Phase II is expected to begin once the current plant becomes operational, potentially creating additional employment opportunities.

Supported by a recently approved ₹6 billion qualified institutional placement (QIP) (about $63 million), Arvind is planning further infrastructure expansion at the Varanasi hub to support its global export supply chains, Apparel Resources reported.

The QIP that Arvind's August placement document describes was for approximately ₹5 billion (about $52.5 million), and it does not name Varanasi among the uses of the money. After estimated expenses of approximately ₹138.8 million (about $1.46 million), the net proceeds of approximately ₹4,861.2 million (about $51 million) are earmarked for repayment or pre-payment of certain outstanding borrowings and general corporate purposes. The borrowings named include those of its material subsidiary, Arvind Advanced Materials Limited.

Across the whole company, Arvind is also investing approximately ₹4.5 billion to ₹5 billion in Fiscal 2027, largely funded through internal accruals, to build capacity ahead of demand (about $47 million to $52.5 million).

How Does the PLI Scheme Shape Jobs Like These?

The Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Textiles had attracted investments worth ₹81,176.4 million and generated 33,427 new jobs as of March 31, 2026 (about $852 million), in data released by the Ministry of Textiles, and 170 companies have been approved under the scheme. By segment, man-made fibre apparel accounts for 43 applicants with expected employment of 214,665, 89 companies are in technical textiles with employment potential of 120,205, and 38 companies have been approved under the MMF fabrics segment with employment potential of 32,557. Together, the approved projects carry proposed investments of ₹415.33 billion (about $4.36 billion) and an estimated employment generation of 367,427, all of them projected figures. The scheme aims to help the industry achieve the necessary size and scale, become globally competitive, and create substantial employment opportunities.

Gujarat secured the highest number of approved companies (46), and companies there attracted the highest state-wise investment of ₹19,033.8 million (about $199.8 million). Karnataka ranked next with investments of ₹15,159.9 million through six approved companies (about $159.1 million). Uttar Pradesh recorded investments of ₹46.3 million (about $486,000) under the scheme by March 31, 2026, while Punjab, West Bengal, and Odisha had no actual investments at all.

India is the 6th largest exporter of Textiles & Apparel in the world, a CARE report figure cited by Arvind, and readymade garments are the major segment of the overall textiles industry in India, one of the sectors behind India's potential in labor-intensive manufacturing.

How Can You Apply for Jobs at Arvind?

Arvind invites applicants through its careers and current openings page, which seeks people for work in fashion, water, infrastructure, sustainability, and more.

Early-career candidates have a separate route. Samarth is Arvind's platform for nurturing young talent and accelerating early leadership, built on real-world assignments, structured learning and mentorship, and it runs on the 70:20:10 model of experience, exposure, and education. Participants solve meaningful, business-impacting problems from Day One, work with mentors who guide and shape future leaders and can gain visibility and recognition as a Rising Star before senior leadership. The company commits to zero discrimination in hiring, promotion, and everyday work practices, and states that talent and potential determine growth, not background, identity, or personal circumstance.

What This Means for Garment Workers in Purvanchal, and What Should You Do Next?

For local households, the initiative is meant to create a sustainable source of livelihood for many families.

• Know your grade before you sign. Uttar Pradesh pays different legal minimums for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers, so the grade written on an offer decides the floor.
• Check whether the role is permanent or contract. Arvind employs both permanent employees and contract labour.

Our take is that the plant matters most as a training ground. A garment job that comes with on-site training, international brand customers and a legal pay floor builds a skill a worker can carry to the next employer, whether the second phase arrives quickly or not.

Lacey Kaelani, Metaintro's CEO, puts it this way: The first batch on a new factory floor becomes the people who train everyone after them, so the earliest hires carry the most weight.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many jobs will Arvind's Varanasi plant create?

A: The plant is expected to employ 1,000 women, and more than 300 were already hired and in training when it opened on 25 October.

Q: Where is the new Arvind plant in Varanasi?

A: It is in Khochwan (Bhadhera) village near the Rupapur intersection in Mirzamurad, along National Highway 19.

Q: What will the Arvind Varanasi factory produce?

A: It will make sportswear, undergarments and other clothing for established brands, including Jockey, US Polo and Arrow.

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