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Technical textiles to be next Indian sunrise industry

26 Mar '14

5 min read

The representatives of the states of Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra, spoke on the different initiatives launched by their respective state governments to promote technical textiles.

Dr D A Venkatesh, Commissioner for Textiles Development and Director of Handlooms & Textiles, Government of Karnataka, spoke on Karnataka as an ideal investment destination for technical textiles as it provided a congenial industrial climate, had availability of infrastructure for investment especially the land bank, an investor- friendly textile policy, skilled labour and a special package for investors of technical textiles.

He says, “Through Technotex, the government has given us a platform to discuss and negotiate an investment opportunity in the field of technical textiles, which is a prospering industry.”

Shri. Kamal Dayani, Industries Commissioner, Government of Gujarat, gave an overview of the investment avenues in Gujarat for technical textiles. He said that while the potential of this industry and its application is huge, the consumption in comparison is miniscule, almost less than 2-3 per cent of the global pie. He said, “There is a need to relook at building some innovative products in this sector, which will drive up the demand and this required a collaborative effort from all the stakeholders.”

He further mentioned that the new textile policy of Gujarat had listed a number of incentives for investors as it aimed to encourage and enhance the framework for investment in this sector.

Shri. Sunil Porwal, Principal Secretary – Textiles, Government of Maharashtra, spoke of technical textiles as a good business opportunity for investors. Especially for a state like Maharashtra, he said, that an investor can leverage the opportunity as the state has social, physical, finance infrastructure in place as well as the trade and the market along with a positive policy and transparent environment. He added, “The usage of technical textiles is widespread and its impact on other sectors is immense, investors must use this opportunity to grow.”

Calling it the next sunrise sector for India, Smt. Zohra Chatterji, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India gave a detailed insight into the vision of the government for the technical textiles sector. The government was looking at a five-fold increase in the fund outlay for the sector during the 12th five year plan.

A major initiative will also be to drive up the growth of the sector in the north-eastern states. A pilot scheme budgeted at Rs 500 crore has also been proposed for geo textiles. There are also plans to hike the FDI for this sector. The government has already launched an integrated skill development scheme to train 15 million people in this field by 2020.

Smt. Chatterji said that the entire idea and effort was to make India a leading global hub for technical textiles by providing a conducive investment framework and that the private sector had a great role to play in making it a reality.

A Knowledge Paper on Technical Textiles was launched at the event. Shri. Pramod Khosla, Chairman – ITTA drew the inaugural session to a close by giving the vote of thanks.

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