Technical textiles will cross $10 bn in export

Sub : Eco

Sec: External Sector

What are Technical Textiles?

Technical textiles are functional fabrics that have applications across various industries including automobiles, civil engineering and construction, agriculture, healthcare, industrial safety, personal protection etc.
Technical Textile products derive their demand from the development and industrialization in a country.
Based on usage, there are 12 technical textile segments: Agrotech, Meditech, Buildtech, Mobiltech, Clothtech, Oekotech, Geotech, Packtech, Hometech, Protech, Indutech and Sportech.

What do we know about the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM)?

It was approved in 2020 by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) with total outlay of Rs.1480 Crore.
The implementation period is four years, from FY 2020-21 to FY 2023-24.

Aim:

The aim of the mission is to position India as a global leader in Technical Textiles by taking the domestic market size from USD 40 billion to USD 50 billion by 2024.
It also supports the ‘Make in India’ Initiative promoting domestic manufacturing of related machinery and equipment.

Components:

First component: It will focus on research, development and innovation with an outlay of Rs. 1,000 crores.
The research will be at both fiber level and application-based in geo, agro, medical, sports and mobile textiles and the development of biodegradable technical textiles.
Research activities will also focus on the development of indigenous machinery and process equipment.
Second component: It will be for the promotion and development of the market for technical textiles.
The penetration level of technical textiles is low in India varying between 5-10% against the level of 30-70% in developed countries.
The Mission will aim at an average growth rate of 15-20% per annum by 2024.
Third component: It will focus on export promotion so that technical textile exports from the country reach from Rs 14,000 crores to Rs 20,000 crores by 2021-2022 and ensure 10% average growth every year till the Mission ends.
An export promotion council for technical textiles will be set up.
Fourth component: It will focus on education, training and skill development.
The Mission will promote technical education at higher engineering and technology levels related to technical textiles and its application areas.