Aligning with its broader goal of promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the country, the Indian government plans to accelerate growth in the technical textiles sector to upto 15-20 per cent over the next five years, as per a KPMG report. The government also plans to support startups in this sector by offering grants of upto Rs 50 lakh each to 150 companies engaged in making technical textiles such as Kevlar and Spandex. This funding is a part of the government’s allocation of Rs 375 crore for FY25 from the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM). The textiles ministry has also relaxed the royalty cap on this scheme to facilitate the growth of these start-ups. Start-ups planning to avail this fund need to deposit 10 per cent of the total fund allocation in advance. As of now, 10 startups are set to be approved next week with the remaining to be selected over the next few months
Another of the textiles ministry’s initiatives includes developing fabric-based artificial teeth with dental resins made from polyester to make dental implants more affordable. For this, expensive ceramic, polymer and composite implants are being replaced with research being conducted by institutions like AIIMS and IITs.
Further, the government plans to introduce new quality control orders (QCOs) for textiles products, including technical, protective and build-tech textiles to monitor substandard imports from China.
As of now, the government has brought bedsheets, pillow covers, shoe covers, napkins, baby diapers, orchard protection covers, fencing nets, and insect nets among others under the QCO’ ambit. It aims to bring over 2,000 products under the QCO ambit in the coming years.
