The award was conferred by the Vice President of India, Mr Venkaiah Naidu and was received by the Director, BTRA. Textile Minister Smriti Irani was also present on the dais during the award ceremony. BTRA was selected by the Ministry of Textiles for award in the category ‘Excellence in Innovations in Textiles sector’. The Ministry of Textiles (MoT) has constituted a special committee to assess and recognise the best innovations in the Indian textile industry. The committee included eminent leaders of the Indian textile industry. The committee invited applications from textile companies and Textile Research Associations (TRA), to identify and reward out-of-the-box thinking and innovative ideas which has an edge over the existing technology and has cost cutting, energy saving and eco-friendly approach.
Out of the two applications that were submitted for nomination for the award from BTRA in the last week of December, one of them bagged the award. The award winning innovation is related to the integration of electronic components and nanotechnology for intelligent fabrics possessing specific properties. This filament with enhanced piezo-electric property can be used as sensor, actuator or generator as part of a garment. This filament will be able to replace the use of existing sensors, actuators and generators that are hard and fragile and affect the comfort of the wearer. The award ceremony was held on January 6, 2019 in New Delhi. The award was conferred by the Vice President of India, Mr Venkaiah Naidu and was received by the Director, BTRA. Textile Minister Smriti Irani was also present on the dais during the award ceremony
