Technological Gap Needs To Be Addressed In the Field Of Technical Textiles: Piyush Goyal The minister emphasized the importance of technology, segment experts, scientists and academicians for the growth of India's technical textiles
By Shrabona Ghosh •
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Under the flagship programme, National Technical Textiles Mission, the ministry of textiles cleared 23 strategic research projects worth INR 60 crore in the areas of specialty fibers, sustainable textiles, geotextiles, mobiltech and sports textiles under the chairmanship of Piyush Goyal, Union minister of textiles.
Among these 23 research projects, 12 projects of specialty fibers having application areas in agriculture, smart textiles, healthcare, strategic application and protective gears were cleared. Four projects from sustainable textiles having application areas in agriculture and healthcare sectors were cleared. Additionally, five projects from geotextile, one from mobiltech and one from sportech were cleared.
"Industry and academia connect is essential for the growth of research and development in the application areas of technical textiles in India. Building convergence with academicians, scientists and researchers is the need of the hour," said Piyush Goyal, Union minister of textiles in a statement.
The minister emphasized the importance of technology, segment experts, scientists and academicians for the growth of India's technical textiles. "The technological gap in the country needs to be addressed in the field of technical textiles. Identification of the area of research in technical textiles with industry interaction and promotional activities like conferences, exhibition, and buyer-seller meet to promote the use of technical textiles in the country and to increase the exports should be the key focus areas," the minister added.
India's textile and apparel exports (including handicrafts) stood at $ 44.4 billion in FY22, a 41 per cent increase year-on-year. Exports of readymade garments including cotton accessories stood at $ 6.19 billion in FY22, said a report by Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
The Indian government has come up with several export promotion policies for the textiles sector. Under the Union Budget 2022-23, the total allocation for the textile sector was INR 12,382 crore. With an aim to place India as one of the leaders in the global technical textile market the Indian government has earmarked INR 1,000 crore dedicated only for research and development of the technical textiles sector.
The government approved production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles products, namely man-made fibers apparel, man-made fibers fabrics and products of technical textiles, for enhancing India's manufacturing capabilities and enhancing exports with an approved financial outlay of INR 10,683 crore over a five-year period.
In November 2021, Union minister Piyush Goyal, expressed the desire to target a three-five time increase in the export of technical textiles worth $ 10 billion over the next three years.
