Minister says technical textiles a sunrise sector
April 10, 2015 - India
Minister of State for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar has called upon textile industry barons to invest in the technical textile business, by calling it a sunrise sector.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 4th edition of Technotex, organised in Mumbai jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and the union ministry of textiles he said, “The textile industry is the second largest sector after agriculture to create employment opportunities in the country.”
Technotex is an initiative of the textiles ministry to boost investment in the technical textiles sector where the potential is still untapped.
Gangwar said that there was immense potential in the technical textile sector as the international market was worth Rs 17 lakh crore.
This year, India’s technical textile business is close to Rs 1 crore and could be improved to great extent with investments from global players, he added.
Gangwar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen on improving the textile industry as well, particularly in the Northeastern states, where the government has invested Rs 427 crore in technical textiles. The plan is expected to boost the apparel and garment industry in the region, he said.
Speaking from the industry perspective towards the future and development of technical textile industry in India, Pramod Khosla, chairman and managing director, Khosla PRofil, emphasised on the importance of accelerating usage and promoting investments in India pertaining to the growth of technical textile industry, which is referred to as the sunshine industry.
Sanjay Kumar Panda, secretary, Ministry of Textiles, briefed the audience about the Indian technical textile industry and the initiatives taken by the Government of India in the sunshine sector.
Chandrakant Patil, minister for cooperative, marketing, textiles and PWD, Government of Maharashtra, spoke about the initiatives taken by the Maharashtra government to provide an environment of encouragement to the industry stakeholders.
In his address, Govindas Konthoujam, Manipur’s minister of commerce and industries, stressed on the scope of implementation of technical textiles in the north east region, particularly Manipur.