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Government of India increasing penetration of technical textiles in domestic market

News | June 15, 2022 | By:

The Government of India plans to focus on research and development of technical textiles under the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) to increase penetration of these items in the Indian market. Over 500 BIS standards for technical textiles have been developed and 40 more are in the pipeline.

“Technical textiles is a sunrise sector, and we collectively have to work to increase penetration of these items in the domestic market,” says Upendra Prasad Singh, Secretary of Ministry of Textiles for the Government of India.

To further boost technical textiles, the government has taken a series of initiatives in the last two years including introduction of PLI scheme for man-made and technical textiles as well as setting up the National Technical Textile Mission.  The main job of NTTM is in research and development (R&D) and with the increase in use of technical textiles, there is a need to enhance the R&D.

“Whatever we need to do to promote technical textiles, including government, BIS and the industry, we can’t ensure quality unless we have standards,” Singh added. “There has to be uniformity in standards as well. We need to have revision of standards also from time to time.”

The government is also planning to deliberate soon on Quality Control Order (QCO) for certain technical textiles items. “The quality control orders will be mandatory and will take these steps in consultation with the industry so that the industry, especially indigenous industry, is not affected.”

“Already, the BRO (Border Roads Organization) has been using geotextiles in a large number of areas,” added Lieutenant General Rajeev Chaudhry, Director General of the BRO. “We construct various roads, tunnels and airports at extreme weather conditions, and at times, with lack of adequate technical support. We need industry to support us by finding solutions to these problems at borders. We have been collaborating with various technical institutions, industry as well as academia.”

Important areas where standards would be required include geotextiles and sports tech, meditech and protech. “Technology is changing rapidly and technical textiles with their wide applications can play a crucial role in the country’s transformation in the next 25 years,” added Rajinder Gupta, Chair of the FICCI Textiles Committee and Chairman, Trident, Ltd. “Today is the time to build a new India which is safe, clean and self-dependent.”

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