Government expects technical textiles sector to grow at 20% in FY17

The government is taking growth of technical textiles on priority basis and expecting the industry to grow at a rate of 20 per cent with the market size of the sector reach Rs 1.58-lakh crore in current fiscal. The government is providing financial support for growth of the industry and has announced 15 per cent capital subsidy for investments in technical textiles under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme.

Technical textiles are an important part of the textile industry and its potential is still largely untapped in India.  Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta has said that India has been growing at a steady pace in the sector with perceptible signs of expansion being observed in a few specialised segments. She further stated that the sector spends around 10-11 per cent on R&D at present and hopes to double the same in coming years.

The global technical textiles market is expected to reach $ 193.16 billion by 2022. Growth of key end-use industries such as agriculture, construction, packaging and automotive in BRICS nations is expected to remain a key driving factor for global technical textiles market. Technical textiles offers several advantages in their functional aspects for improving health and safety, cost effectiveness, and durability and strength of textile material and growing industrialisation, increasing access to medical care and huge infrastructure spending is expected to drive growth in the sector.