India should target 5X increase in technical textiles export in three years: Piyush Goyal

Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal said that India should target five times increase in export of technical textiles in three years. The minister was speaking to representatives of the Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) in Delhi today.

Goyal said that the union government would support the Production Linked Incentives (PLIs) scheme for the textile sector in states offering affordable infrastructure for textile manufacturing like cheap land and power.

Piyush Goyal stated that there should be no difference in textile quality meant for international and domestic consumers. He further suggested public-private participation in using government funds in research & development in technical textiles.

He added that the growth of technical textiles in India had gained momentum in the past five years, currently growing at 8 per cent per annum. The aim is to hasten this growth to a 15-20 per cent range during the next five years.

Technical textiles are textiles, which are engineered to give desired output suitable for specific applications. The applications of technical textiles are widening day by day with the advent of new materials. The ministry said that new inventions made in smart textiles, 3-D weaving, smart wear for health monitoring, and ultra-high performing sportswear are bringing in new avenues that were unthinkable a few years back.

Goyal said that India is an aspiring player with $40 billion size in the market with an 8 per cent share. The biggest players are USA, Western Europe, China and Japan, with a 20-40 per cent share.

The minister said that the government has launched National Technical Textiles Mission in February 2020 to make India a self-reliant, vibrant, export-oriented economy globally.

 "Our aim is to transform India into a major player in innovations, technology development, applications in key areas (agriculture, roads & railways, water resources, hygiene and healthcare, personal protection) with emphasis on higher education and skilled workforce," he said.

He said that trade balance earlier used to be -Rs 2,788 crore in 2018-19 and -Rs 1,366 crore in 2019-20, which has turned positive with Rs 1,767 crore in 2020-21. During 2020-21, India's major share of exports has been PPEs, N-95 and surgical Masks, fabric for PPEs and masks.

Talking about the efforts made by the government to promote technical textiles, the minister informed that 92 items have been made mandatory for use by government organisations covering agriculture/horticulture, highways, railways, water resources, medical applications. Goyal further stated that BIS has issued Indian Standards for 377 items, and nearly 100 are in the pipeline. Skill Development in Technical Textiles commenced with introduction of six new courses and another new 20 courses are under preparation, he added.

The ministry said that ITTA is an association of small and medium segments of technical textiles manufacturers. Ninety per cent of their members have an annual turnover below Rs 100 crore.