During the 2009 elections he won by a margin of 33,454 votes and he received 46.82% of the total votes polled. He was appointed as Union Minister for Textiles, and was instrumental in shielding and steering the Indian Textile Industry to safe waters during the Global recession. His policies and initiatives helped boost exports and gave a fresh breath of air to a legacy industry distraught with demand & supply woes. He initiate several infrastructural and developmental programmes to build skill and upgrade technology for the textile industry and helped take Indian products to unexplored foreign markets in East & South Asia with his "Look East" policy. He also ensured that several thousands of rural & marginalised artisans & weavers got access to better healthcare and insurance facilities and ensured that the ministry promoted research and development in all segment of the industry including handlooms and handicrafts and created a common technology platform on commercial basis to support adaptation of newer technology for value addition and product diversification. He expanded the coverage of Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, Expanded Scheme of Integrated Textile Parks and constituted work groups for national fiber policy. He created a platform for E-Marketing of handloom and handicrafts and accelerated the revival and modernisation of National Textile Corporation mills. He upgraded the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel institute of textile management into an Indian School of textile management and business. This provided for more quality human resource in the form of research, industrial engineers, product development managers and trainers.