The technical textile industry in India is growing at a CAGR of 20 per cent. The diverse range of technical textiles in India can be broadly grouped into categories such as agrotech, meditech, packtech, clothtech, indutech, hometech, geotech, Oekotech, protech, sportstech, buildtech and mobitech. All these sectors are expected to see double digit growth.

Demand for this sector is rising due to many factors including rapid urbanisation, advances in medical technology, expansion in construction sectors, awareness on safety and environmentalism and increased spending on healthcare. Technical textiles are significant for the growth of the entire textile industry as they are value added products manufactured primarily for technical performance and multi-functional properties with less intent on aesthetics and design.

This sector is considered as a sunrise sector and it provides new opportunities to the Indian industry to have a long term sustainable future. However, the absence of a clear classification for technical textiles is creating confusion and many genuine manufacturers do not get the incentives and subsidies allowed to this sector. This is impacting investment in this segment.

India still has a long way to go as it currently lacks the ability to domestically fulfill the rising demand and to be globally competitive in this sector. There is untapped potential both in the export and domestic market of technical textiles.