The union government is thinking about bringing 107 technical textile products, including surgical gloves, PPE kits, bulletproof clothing, and fire-resistant clothing, under the Quality Control Order (QCO), in an effort to stop the importation of subpar goods and guarantee higher standards for those produced domestically.
The government is increasingly using the QCO approach to reduce the dumping of cheap Chinese goods. The trade deficit with China, which makes up roughly 40% of all trade deficits in India, is growing at the same time.
“Since technical fabrics are made to carry out particular duties, assuring quality is essential. 107 technical textiles goods are being considered for Quality Control Orders (QCOs). Consideration is being given to QCOs for 19 Geo-tech, 12 Pro-tech, 22 Agro-tech, and 6 Medi-tech. According to Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) regulations, 48 medical technology goods are already covered,” according to Textiles Secretary Rachna Shah.
Shah continued, “Over 500 Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on technical textiles have been produced, and BIS is currently working on 40 additional such standards as per industry requirements.”
“One of the objectives of QCOs is to guarantee that items created locally meet the standards for quality and safety. Another is that we can decrease inexpensive imports from other countries if our quality is higher. Because we don’t have an alternative and it’s being used with little to no public awareness, a lot of things are discarded in the country.” The National Technical Textiles Mission’s mission director, R V Mahendra Gowda, stated that QCOs will also raise awareness.
In the meantime, the Flagship Program of the National Technical Textiles Mission has received approval from the Ministry of Textiles for two guidelines: “General Guidelines for Enabling of Academic Institutes in Technical Textiles- for Private & Public Institutes” and “General Guidelines for Grant for Internship Support in Technical Textiles (GIST)” (NTTM).
“One of the goals of QCOs is to make sure that items made domestically meet quality standards and are safe. Another is that if our quality is higher, we won’t need as many cheap imports from other countries. Due to a lack of alternatives and the fact that it is being utilised with little to no public awareness, a variety of products are dumped throughout the nation. Accordingly, QCOs will raise awareness,” according to R V Mahendra Gowda, mission director for the National Technical Textiles Mission.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Textiles has approved two guidelines for the Flagship Program of the National Technical Textiles Mission: “General Guidelines for Enabling of Academic Institutes in Technical Textiles- for Private & Public Institutes” and “General Guidelines for Grant for Internship Support in Technical Textiles (GIST)” (NTTM).
The recommendations would emphasise building a world-class knowledge ecosystem to position India as a global leader in technical textiles over the next ten years, it was further said.
