The knitting industry is directly related to the growth of Indian woolen textile industry. The woolen industry in India is small in size and widely scattered. The industry is basically located in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat. About 40% of the woolen units are located in Punjab followed by 27% in Haryana, 10% in Rajasthan. The rest of the Indian states account for the remaining 23% of the units. The total wool production of India is approximately 45 million kg.

The scenario of the Indian Woolen Industry is as follows:

a) Total no. of registered units	714
b) Total no. of persons employed in the Woollen Industry	12 lakh (appro.)
c) Total Exports (excluding hand made carpets, rugs, durries etc.)	Rs.1765.81 crore (upto Dec' 99)
d) Total import of raw wool	53.97 million kg (1998-99)

Source: http://texmin.nic.in/annualrep/ar02_c07.pdf

The Indian woollen industry broadly falls in two sectors:

a) ORGANISED SECTOR

i) Composite Mills

ii) Combing Units.

iii) Worsted and Non-Worsted Spinning Units.

iv) Machine Made Carpet Manufacturing Units.

b) DECENTRALISED SECTOR:

i) Hosiery and Knitting

ii) Powerloom

iii) Hand Knotted Carpets, Druggets and Namdahs

iv) Independent Dyeing and Processing Houses.

India also depends on imports. Imports are mainly from Australia and New-Zealand. The major supplier is Australia for woolen yarns for knitwear while New-Zealand wool is imported mainly for the carpet sector for blending with indigenous wool.