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International Exhibition and Conference on Technical Textiles- Technotex 2023

The Union Minister for Textiles, Commerce and Industry, and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution’ Piyush Goyal has said that it is time for the Indian textile industry to focus on scale, quality, speed and higher volume. He was addressing the Keynote Session of ‘Technotex 2023, from 22-24 February 2023: Envisioning Indian Technical Textiles @2047′, the 10th edition of the International Exhibition and Conference on Technical Textiles, at Bombay Exhibition Centre in Goregaon, Mumbai.

The Minister said that this is the right time to capture world markets. “It is time we started looking at scale and more composite plants, to use more modern technology, thereby also enabling us to meet the needs of large corporate buyers across the world. Many international companies tell me that they are not able to find high-quality high-volume suppliers, even though many would prefer to have a relationship with India and work with a democracy with transparent rule-based systems. In this context, it is time we look at growth, scale and speed. Today is the right time to capture world markets. Our Free Trade Agreements with UAE and Australia came into force last year. We are also working on agreements with other countries including those of the European Union. The direction is to become an international player; no country has become a developed nation without playing an integral role in the global supply chain. We have to integrate our economy with those of the developed countries to reach our potential and the desire of our young population.”

The Minister said that given the vast range of usage for technical textiles, this is the area of the future. “I appeal to startups as well as large corporations to consider expanding rapidly in the technical textiles field. Our share of the global market is about 2.5%; I believe that the Indian market will grow faster than 12% if we are able to showcase its purposes.”

Encouraging the participants to be big and bold, the Minister shared his belief that we can shoot for a 200-billion-dollar industry in technical textiles. “The technical textile sector will enable us to find applications in modern technology areas. Technical textiles are going to be used increasingly in ocean ships and in the airline industry as well.”

“Capture India’s G20 Presidency Opportunity”

Speaking of India’s G20 Presidency, the Minister asked the technical textile industry and the textiles industry in general to capture the opportunities afforded by the G20 meetings to find opportunities to do business with friendly countries. The Minister recalled the 5-F Principle of Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign espoused by the Prime Minister as the way forward for the industry.

Asserting that the environment is conducive and positive, the Minister underlined that what we need are focussed goals and actionable agenda. Speaking of the Rs. 1,480 crore National Technical Textile Mission, the Minister urged the industry and other stakeholders to examine what new research, new compounds, fabrics, composites and final products can be leveraged in order to capture the global market. “We will be happy to offer all eight Textile Research Associations and other government institutes to support any private sector initiative, to get high quality scientific rigour into your innovations and fast-track your proposals.”

“Train Two Lakh People in Two Years”

The Minister said that the Ministry could offer technical training in the SAMARTH scheme, along with a skilling component which is available under the National Technical Textile Mission. “I urge the industry to utilize these schemes, to contribute to the development of skilled personnel in the industry. I would like the technical textile industry to have a target of 2 lakh people being trained every two years.” The Minister announced that a committee will be constituted to oversee and monitor the aforementioned training of manpower for the technical textile sector.

The Minister said that the Production Linked Incentive scheme is doing well and that the Ministry is coming up with further additions to the Scheme for finished products. Speaking of the circular economy, the Minister encouraged everyone to look at waste and keep sustainability as a key element of the work done by the industry.

The Minister exhorted everyone including the student community to make quality and sustainability a part of our lives. “All of us and our young generation should imbibe the principle of Zero Effect Zero Defect in our lives and make quality a mantra. BIS has come up with seven quality standards, Quality Control Orders are also going to be institutionalized in the days to come. This will help us to make our products world-class.” Let us aspire to make India Aatma Nirbhar, at the same time, we have the strength to make the world reliant on India, the Minister said.

The Minister also released a Knowledge Report on global best practices in technical textiles on the occasion. A set of seven BIS Standards for technical textiles was also released.

 The three-day flagship event comprising buyer-seller meets, an international exhibition and conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Textiles Darshana Jardosh on February 22, 2023.Organized by the Union Ministry of Textiles and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), the event provides a common platform for interaction amongst stakeholders from across the global technical textile value chain.

Addressing industry representatives and other stakeholders, the Union Minister Darshana Jardosh said that the future of the textile sector is closely linked with the growth of the technical textile industry. The Minister observed that as the global technical textile industry continues to grow, India is poised to benefit from the expansion. Domestic consumption and export are both expected to grow rapidly in the next few years, making this an important time for the industry, she added.

The Minister pointed out that Indian Technical Textiles industry is expanding quickly in terms of output and value, and a variety of industries benefit from its products, including those in the automotive, agricultural, home care, construction, aerospace, protective gear, and healthcare sectors, among others as these products have improved functional qualities like greater tenacity and strength as well as better thermal and chemical resistance. “The end use of technical textiles caters to a wide variety of industries, thereby making it a high value sector in India.”

Union Minister Darshana Jardosh also launched an e-book on Technical Textiles titled ‘Technical Textiles Ecosystem in India: Market Overview, Inherent Linkages and Growth Opportunities’ on the occasion.

The three-day exhibition cum conference cum buyer-seller meets has sought to envision Indian Technical Textiles at 2047. It exemplifies the immense potential for trade and investment between India and foreign countries in the technical textile sector. It pooled in participants, visitors, and other key decision makers from a diverse cross section of the Technical Textiles Industry, aiming to provide more innovative solutions, identify new business opportunities and create an environment congenial for growth.

Addressing the gathering, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Rachna Shah said that Technotex is a unique platform which brings together all stakeholders connected with the technical textile to deliberate and engage on how to take the sector forward. “It is gratifying to note that the response this year has been very encouraging, with more than 150 exhibitors and more than 250 buyers from across the world, from more than 30 countries. I am confident that this would have generated a lot of business opportunities and for working together.” The Secretary thanked the host state Maharashtra and the partner states.

 Speaking on the theme of Technotex 2023, the Secretary said that it brings into focus the overarching vision of making India a hub for technical textiles. “The demand for technical textiles is growing globally, in a couple of years, it will be about 320 billion dollars, while India is aspiring to reach a figure of 40 billion dollars by 2025-26. While it is a huge task, we believe we can achieve it provided we put our hands together.”

The Secretary said that the government is deeply committed to working with all stakeholders to generate demand, strengthen research, bring out new applications for technical textiles, and promote startups to bring innovation. “The government is working on the National Technical Textiles Mission as well as on standards and quality. Production Linked Incentive Scheme has been able to generate a good amount of interest, which is expected to bring in roughly Rs. 10,000 crore investment in the technical textiles sector.” The Secretary hoped that the recommendations emerging from Technotex would be incorporated in government policies for the sector.

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