National Technical Textiles Mission

The National Technical Textiles Mission is launched in 2020-21 to firmly establish India as a global leader in technical textiles. It also aims to increase the use of technical textiles within the country.

The Ministry of Textiles has formed a Mission Directorate that states that the Mission's primary focus will be to develop and create awareness of the use of technical textiles across many flagship missions. In addition, it is expected that the strategic sectors will also employ and use technical textiles.

What are Technical Textiles?

Technical textiles are fabrics that play a useful role across various industries. These textiles aren't manufactured for their looks but for the function that they serve. They include but are not restricted to automobiles, civil engineering, construction, healthcare, industrial and personal safety, security and personal protection, and more. Depending on their usage, there are 12 segments of technical textiles at the moment. They are:

• Agrotech (food Products and Edible Oils)
• Buildtech (tools and applications that improve the way companies design, plan, and execute projects)
• Clothtech (textile components used in clothing and footwear)
• Geotech (products manufactured from natural and artificial fibres using weaving, knitting, and non-woven methods)
• Hometech (used in home furnishing and clothing)
• Indutech (industrial uses like filtration, cleaning conveying, and others.)
• Meditech (used in hygiene, health, and personal care as well as surgical applications)
• Mobiltech (used in Manufacturing Automobiles, railways, shipping, aerospace, etc.)
• Oekotech (used in oil, gas, and water transportation systems to maintain protection)
• Protech (used in Personal and Medical protection)
• Sportech (used in Sportswear and Sports Equipments)

National Technical Textiles Mission Components

The National Technical Textiles Mission comprises four parts:

1. The first component focuses on innovation, research, and development and has been allocated Rs 1,000 crores. The concerned department researches various aspects of fibre level and app-based in agro, geo, medical, mobile textiles, sports. There is research slated to be conducted on the development of bio-degradable technical textiles, focusing mainly on the development of indigenous machinery and process equipment.
2. The second component is promoting and developing a market for technical textiles thus produced.
3. The third component focuses mainly on export promotion. This is to catapult technical textile exports from the current Rs. 14,000 crores to Rs. 20,000 crores by 2021-22. This component also ensures a 10% average annual growth until the Mission ends in 2024. This component would also set up an export promotion council for technical textiles.
4. Fourth component: It focuses on education, training, and skill development. This will include promoting technical education at higher technical levels, focusing on the application areas of the developed skills.

National Technical Textiles Mission Scope

The National Technical Textiles Mission is an initiative to broaden the use of futuristic textiles. They can be fire-proof, high-altitude combat gear and bulletproof jackets, and more.

The size of the domestic market will ideally be $40-50 billion by 2024, according to the Mission. This will be implemented over four years, beginning in 2020-2021.

The Mission aims to bring about the holistic development of the sector across India. The various components of the National Technical Textiles Mission have been incorporated in the Constitution of an Export Promotion Council for Technical Textiles. The present yearly value of technical textiles is ₹14,000 crore. This Mission aims to increase this figure to ₹20,000 crores by 2021-22.

The National Technical Textiles Mission can be seen as India's step forward in the technical textile industry. It is a tall order, but this step ahead would place India at the front line, and the country will firmly establish itself globally with time and effort.

FAQs on National Technical Textiles Mission

Q.1. What market size does the National Technical Textile Mission hope to capture?

The size of the domestic market will ideally be $40-50 billion by 2024, according to the Mission.

Q.2. What are the Main Components of the National Technical Textiles Mission?

The Mission comprises four parts or components: a. innovation, research, and development, b. promotion and development of a market for technical textiles thus produced, c. export promotion, d. education, training, and skill development.

Q.3. How many projects has the National Technical Textiles Mission cleared till now?

Out of 20 Research projects, the Mission cleared 16 projects of speciality fibres, including:

• Five projects in healthcare
• Four projects in industrial and protective gear
• Three projects in energy storage
• Three projects in textile waste recycling, and
• One in agriculture
• Geotextiles Infrastructure also had four projects cleared.

Q.4. What is the core philosophy behind the National Technical Textiles Mission?

The core philosophy behind the National Technical Textiles Mission is making an Atmanirbhar Bhara, in all spheres, like Agriculture, Energy Storage, Healthcare, Infrastructure Industrial and Protective, and Textile Waste Recycling.