The Government will soon be coming up with guidelines to support the creation of an education ecosystem and skilled workforce in the field of technical textiles with the development of new courses and laboratory infrastructure, amongst several other initiatives, to promote the growth of technical textiles in India. Technical textiles is a sunrise industry with a robust growth rate of 10 per cent annually. However, the sector is still small in size and there is a lot of opportunity for India to be a prominent player in this sector in the global arena.
This was one of the the major takeaways from the day-long ‘National Conclave on Technical Textiles – Protech’, organised by the Ministry of Textiles (MoT) in partnership with Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) in Delhi.
The event also had an exhibition of companies encompassing wide range of protective textile products.
Inaugurating the Conclave, Rachna Shah, Secretary, MoT insisted that focus should be on indigenisation of technology and implementation of quality standards in niche Protech items, given the spur in global demand and usage for Protech products, she further added.
“India is poised to emerge as a powerful destination for manufacturing and exports. However, it is the need of the hour to focus on product diversification, design, aesthetics, as well as the need for training of the manpower involved,” she said.
Protective segment, which is known for functional performance in the areas of protection, is one of the most prominent applications of technical textiles.
Roop Rashi, Textile Commissioner mentioned that there is a need to focus on outcome-oriented R&D in the sector, and given MoT’s focus on R&D which is a major component of the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM), tremendous growth is anticipated in the coming years. She apprised about the Government’s efforts on resolving issues in this sector in terms of credit support, subsidy support, facilitation of investment flow among others. She mentioned that the technical textiles industry will be a catalyst to fulfil India’s vision of Industry 4.0.
Rajeev Saxena, Joint Secretary, MoT emphasised on the NTTM and its components including research, development and innovation; skilling, training and education; promotion and market development; and export promotion.
He highlighted on the various initiatives undertaken under the mission such as supporting R&D projects in niche and strategic Protech areas, QCOs on 12 protech items, amongst others.
Raj Kumar Jain, Chairman, NITRA, said that the market for technical textiles is expanding as the products are being put to use by an ever-increasing number of end users in various industries such as protective wear, agriculture, amongst others.
Amit Agarwal, Chairman, ITTA, highlighted that protective textiles are not only used in fire scenarios, but have wider usage in many hazardous-prone activities related to energy transmission, radiation energy, amongst others.
He emphasised that mandating the use of technical textiles by user industry would significantly drive the growth of technical textiles in India.
Dr. Arindam Basu, DG, NITRA, informed about the research facilities and projects being undertaken by NITRA in the field of technical textiles, especially protective textiles.
The event had thought-provoking discussion on the future of protective textile products in India, experience and expectations of consumers towards adoption of Indian protective textiles and market promotion and export opportunities for protective textiles in India along with global best practices.
Around 450 participants attended the Conclave including officials and representatives from Central Government, Indian forces, researchers, entrepreneurs and professionals related to technical textiles especially Protech.
For detailed coverage of the event, please see the upcoming December issue of Apparel Online India magazine.
