The Indian textile industrial sector is one of the oldest industrial sectors in the country, which is also energy intensive. It is currently undergoing several studies to reduce its energy consumption and hence energy conservation (EC) in this context offers an excellent opportunity. This paper, at the beginning, addresses the experiences of the authors with a textile industry, which has already carried out some fruitful EC measures. Then it highlights the EC potential availability and suggests some practicable environmental friendly EC policies suitable for the Indian context to achieve the estimated potential, and finally it highlights the Government's role in the EC endeavour. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.