The central government aims to target the export of USD 10 billion worth of technical textiles under its National Technical Textiles Mission, MoS textiles Pabitra Margherita informed Rajya Sabha this week.
To position India as a global leader in technical textiles, the Mission was launched in 2020-21 and has been extended till 2025-26, with a financial outlay of Rs 1,480 crore.
At present, India’s technical textile exports are reportedly between USD 2 billion to USD 3 billion.
Technical textiles are defined as textile materials and products used primarily for their technical performance in various high-end industries.
There are four broad components under the Mission: The first among those is research, innovation and development with an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore.
The next components are promotion and market development with a Rs 50 crore allocation ; export promotion with Rs 10 crore; and education, training, and skill development with a Rs 400 crore outlay.
The mission focuses on research and innovation and indigenous development of machinery and speciality fibres; promoting awareness amongst users, enhancing India’s exports of technical textiles and creating human resources with requisite skills.
“Technical Textiles is a sunrise sector in the country, offering immense growth potential across various industries. It provides an alternative to the traditional materials used in an application in various sectors such as roads, railways, construction, agriculture, medical industry, hygiene industry, automobile, defence, space and industrial safety etc.,” the minister said in his written reply.
The expansion and adoption of technical textiles will significantly contribute to the nation’s infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, and industrial growth, Minister Margherita added.