Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce, and Industry, and Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal, highlighted the significance of industry and institute collaboration in fostering the indigenous development of technical textiles in India. He made these remarks while presiding over the 7th Meeting of the Mission Steering Group (MSG) of the National Technical Textiles Mission in New Delhi.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Textiles granted approval to 18 research and development (R&D) projects, amounting to INR 46.74 crores. These projects encompassed critical strategic areas such as Geotech, Protech, Indutech, Sustainable Textiles, Sportech, Smart E-Textiles, and Meditech segments. Out of the 18 projects, 14 were categorized as high-value projects, three were Prototype Grant projects and one was an Ideation Grant project. Their scope encompassed various application areas, including Geotech, Protech, Indutech, Sportech, Sustainable Textiles, Meditech, Smart and e-textiles, and Geotextiles.
Leading research bodies and institutes such as BTRA, ATIRA, IIT Delhi, IIT Jammu, NIT Jalandhar, IIT Kharagpur, CSIR New Delhi, and IIT Madras spearheaded the approved projects. The Union Minister diligently reviewed the progress of different components of the National Technical Textiles Mission, including the sanctioned R&D products and projects operating under Mission mode. Additionally, he emphasized the establishment of a committee for startups in Technical Textiles under the GREAT Guidelines.
The Union Minister also took stock of outreach activities such as the 6th Edition of the MOT-FICCI-BIS National Conclave on Standards & Regulations and the Meditex conference scheduled for July and September 2023, respectively. He stressed the need for extensive research and development in globally imported technical textiles, as well as import-dependent technical textile items and specialty fibres, within India.
Moreover, the Union Minister examined the progress of education, training, and skill development efforts. A staggering 26 applications, amounting to INR 151.02 crores, were approved for introducing coursework, procuring laboratory infrastructure, and trainer training across various application areas of technical textiles. These applications were submitted by 15 public and 11 private institutes.
Several esteemed individuals, including senior officials from NITI Aayog, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Expenditure, Department of Higher Education, and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, as well as members from other Ministries and prominent figures from the industry, attended the meeting.
