Representatives from various IITs, DRDO and BTRA among others attended the meeting chaired by Union minister of textiles Piyush Goyal. Source: Shutterstock
The Union ministry of textiles has cleared 20 strategic research projects worth Rs 30 crore under its flagship programme, National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM). These projects focus on the areas of specialty fibres and geotextiles.
Union minister of textiles Piyush Goyal cleared the research projects at a meeting on January 17, where he also addressed scientists and technologists, saying, “Industry and Academia connect is essential for the growth of research and development in the application areas of Technical Textiles in India. Building convergence with academicians, scientists and researchers is the need of the hour.”
Representatives from various leading Indian institutes, centres of excellence and government organisations attended the meeting chaired by Goyal – including Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) among others.
At the session, several projects strategic for the development of the Indian economy were cleared, especially in the Healthcare, Industrial and Protective, Energy Storage, Textile Waste Recycling, Agriculture and Infrastructure sectors.
Among the 20 research projects cleared, 16 were for specialty fibres, including five projects for Healthcare; four projects for the Industrial and Protective sector, three projects for Energy Storage; three projects for Textile Waste Recycling; one for Agriculture and four projects for Geotextiles (Infrastructure).
The Union minister of textiles also highlighted that the focus should be on internationally high value added products and building a structure of brainstorming around problem statements.
In addition, inter-ministerial synergy is required for attracting mega research projects in the country. Previously, 11 research projects worth Rs 78.60 crore had been cleared by the ministry of textiles on March 26, 2021.
The textile sector has continuously maintained a trade surplus with exports manifold higher than imports. During April to December 2021, the total textiles and apparel including handicrafts exports was $29.8 billion, as compared to $ 21.2 billion for the same period in 2020. This implies a robust growth of approximately 41%.
The government has set a target of $44 billion for textiles and apparel, including handicrafts, and approximately 68% of the annual target has already been achieved.