To address the issue of lack of manpower in the technical textiles sector in India, the industry needs to first define the requisite skills. After defining the skills, the task would be to bridge the gap, Union textiles minister Smriti Irani has said. The Government of India will adequately support the industry in bridging the skills gap.

 

Addressing a curtain raiser of Technotex 2017, Irani assured that the government would consistently and constantly engage with the industry to create standards for the technical textiles sector. She added that the industry needs to come forward and utilise platforms such as Technotex for convergence of efforts.

 

Technotex 2017 is India’s premier show on technical textiles which will be organised by FICCI jointly with the ministry of textiles, Government of India. The sixth edition of the international exhibition, conference and seminars will be held from April 12 to 14, 2017 in Mumbai. Technotex exemplifies the immense potential for trade and investment between India and foreign countries in technical textile sector.

 

The event will showcase products from various sub-sectors of technical textiles such as industrial textiles, medical textiles, automobile textiles, eco textiles, geo textiles, packaging textiles, protective textiles, sports textiles, agro textiles, clothing textiles, technical textiles equipment and machinery, raw materials and textile manufacturing services. It provides a common platform for interaction amongst stakeholders from across the global technical textile value chain. 

 

Technotex is expected to draw in more than 200 exhibitors, looking to showcase a varied collection of technical textiles from the various sub-sectors of the technical textiles industry. With participation from countries like Korea, Switzerland, Japan, the US, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, the UK, Luxembourg, Austria, Italy and many more, the event will also have country pavilions of Taiwan and China. A gateway to the technical textile arena, the event bridges the gap between the buyer and seller by facilitating B2B (Business-to-Business) and G2B (Government-to-Business) meetings.

 

Irani said that agro textiles and geo textiles must be represented at Technotex as these sectors have great untapped potential. She suggested that Technotex stakeholders should engage with agricultural institutes and urban local bodies to create awareness amongst them regarding the advantages of agro textiles such as less consumption of water and better productivity and of geo textiles such as environment friendly sustainable growth, respectively.

 

The Standards on Technical Textiles and brochure of the event was released on the occasion. The release of the standards marks a vital step towards the ministry’s efforts of standardisation of the technical textile products in India.

 

Alka Panda, director general, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), said that BIS has constituted specialised committees to expedite the process of developing standards. She urged the industry to actively participate with BIS and help in developing standards. “BIS was looking forward to industry’s suggestions on standardisation as this would spur innovations.”

 

“There is a need for increased involvement of user institutions; development of indigenous specially fibres; development of standards; focus on research and development and encouragement of JVs and attracting investment in manufacturing technical textiles machinery,” said textile commissioner Kavita Gupta in her presentation.

 

Shishir Jaipuria, chairman, FICCI Technical Textiles Committee and managing director, Ginni Filaments, emphasised on the importance of accelerating usage and promoting investments pertaining to the growth of the technical textile industry, which is referred to as the sunrise sector. He said that the sector was in need of skilled manpower, standards and regulations for transparent growth. (RKS)