Govt clears 20 research projects under National Technical Textiles Mission

New Delhi, Nov 2 (KNN) Under its Flagship Programme ‘National Technical Textiles Mission’, the Ministry of Textiles on November 1 approved 20 strategic research projects worth around Rs 74 crores.

The approved projects are in the areas of Agrotextiles, Speciality fiber, Smart textiles, Activewear textiles, Strategic application areas, Protective gear and apparel, and Sports textiles.

Among these 20 Research projects, 5 Projects are of Speciality Fibres, 6 Projects of Agro-textiles, 2 Projects from Smart Textiles, 2 from protective gear and apparel, 2 from geotextiles, 1 from active wear apparels, 1 from strategic application area, and 1 from sports textiles.

Leading Indian Institutes including IITs, Government Organizations, Research Organization and Eminent Industrialists, among others participated in the session which approved projects strategic for the development of Indian economy and a step in the direction of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

While addressing the group of Scientists and Technical Technologists who participated in the session, Piyush Goyal Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and Textiles, said, “Industry and Academia linkages are 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.”

“Despite the prominent usage of speciality fibres in India, indigenization of the technology has still been a major challenge which needs collaborative interventions from both industry and academia,” he said.

During his address, Goyal stressed on the importance of robust indigenization of machineries and equipment’s for the technical textile sector to establish sustained and strong foothold in the global landscape.

The meeting also deliberated on the need to revise R&D guidelines and create a dedicated indigenous machinery and equipment development guidelines under NTTM for further development of the sector.

It was decided that to bolster the innovation and research ecosystem in technical textiles, NTTM will support ideation and prototyping R&D projects worth upto INR 50 lakhs and 100 lakhs respectively.  (KNN Bureau)