National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the establishment of the National Technical Textiles Mission, with a budget of Rs.1480 crores and a four-year implementation term from FY 2020-21 to FY 2023-24. The NTTM will concentrate on research and development of specialised fibres made of Carbon, Nylon-66, Glass, Aramid, and other high-tech polymers, as well as indigenous development of geo-textiles and agro-textiles,medical textiles, protective textiles, and other segments of technical textiles in various application areas ,raise user awareness, attract large-scale investments, and encourage high-end technical textiles products.By 2024, increase India’s technical textile exports by focusing on the most traded products construct a strong human resource base in the country, both through specialised higher education and the skill development of the country’s technical manpower.

India’s status in technological textiles

India’s emerging investment sector is technical textile. Despite being the world’s second largest textile economy after China, India’s contribution to the global technical textile sector is negligible. The market for technical textiles was predicted to be 16.71 million tonnes with a value of US$ 92.88 billion in 2005, and is expected to grow to 23.77 million tonnes with a value of US$ 127 billion by 2010. In certain industrialised countries, technical textiles account for more than 25% of all fibre consumed and nearly 50% of total textile activity. In the year 2000, technical textiles accounted for 20% of overall textile consumption in China.Technical fabrics, on the other hand, are not widely used in India.

In emerging countries, the technical textiles industry has enormous potential. Asia is quickly establishing itself as a technological textiles powerhouse, both in terms of production and end-use consumption. In the following decade, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and other developing countries, particularly India, have a lot of potential to have an effect in this market. The shifting economic situation in these countries will raise demand for technological textiles. India has the potential to become a major player in the technical textiles sector due to its highly skilled and scientific/technical manpower and plentiful raw material supply.

India’s domestic technical textiles situation

India presently uses items from all 12 technical textile categories, however not all of them are manufactured in the country. The amount of indigenous production varies a lot depending on the product. India is a major producer of technical textiles in the Packtech, Clothtech, Hometech, and Sportech segments. Flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs), tarpaulins, jute carpet backing, hessian, fishnets, surgical dressings, crop covers, and other products with high production levels and significant exports are often commodities with little R&D. Unlike India’s traditional textile industry, which relies significantly on exports, the technological textile industry relies substantially on imports.

Many products, such as baby diapers, adult diapers, disposable polypropylene spunbond fabric, wipes, protective garments, hoses, and seat belt webbings, are heavily imported. The size of the units that make technical textile items varies a lot as well. Some of the major domestic players in this industry include SRF, Entremonde Polycoaters, Kusumgar Corporates, Supreme Nonwovens Pvt. Ltd., Garware Wall Ropes, Century Enka, Techfab India Ltd., Ahlstrom, Pacific Non Woven, Vardhman, Unimin, and others. A number of global technical textiles enterprises are also present, such as Johnson & Johnson, Du Pont, Procter & Gamble, 3M, SKAPs, Kimberly Clark, and others, have established manufacturing plants in India.

Market size and consumption of technical textiles in India by segment

Technical textile’s current market size in India is estimated to be ‘41,756 crore. By 2012-13, India’s whole technical textile sector is predicted to develop at a rate of 11% year on year, reaching a market size of ‘70,151 crore. India’s present technical textile consumption is anticipated to be ‘38,835 crore,’ with the figure expected to rise to ‘65,722 crore by 2012-13.Packtech is the most important segment of the Indian technical textile industry, accounting for around 36% of domestic consumption. Packtech’s present domestic consumption is around ‘14,067 crore, and it is predicted to expand at a 13 percent annual pace to ‘25,913 crore by 2012-13. Clothtech is another important component of the Indian technical textile industry, accounting for about 17% of total technical textile consumption. Domestic consumption of this segment is predicted to increase by roughly 8% year on year by 2012-13, reaching ‘9,665 crore. Mobiltech and Hometech account for 8% and 12% of total technological textile consumption, respectively, and are predicted to rise at 11-12 percent per year over the next five years.

Conclusion

In India, the technical textiles sector is expected to increase at a rate of 12% per year. There is a need for a proactive approach to expanding the existing market, promoting the use of technical textiles in various Government schemes and programmes, and increasing awareness among citizens and institutions in the country in order to achieve the potential of nearly 20% annual growth in this sector. The technical textile industry in India is primarily in the MSME sector, and it requires worldwide exposure in terms of technology adoption and product introduction in the domestic market. Furthermore, utilising cutting-edge technology; pursuing foreign collaboration and joint ventures; and forging tight ties with the country’s technological institutes;Greater investments and a developing domestic market to create demand for technical textiles are just a few of the steps that need to be taken in order for this sector to grow rapidly in the country.