On September 13, 2024, at the Orchid Hotel in Mumbai, the Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) held its 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) with great success. Shri Avinash Misar led the gathering, which was attended by many ITTA members, special invitees, and members of the press. The eminent visitors, members, and media representatives were cordially welcomed to the event by Dr. Anup Rakshit, Executive Director of ITTA. The Vice Chairman, Shri. Mahesh Kudav, led the Business Session. Virendra Singh (I.A.S.), Secretary (Textiles), Government of Maharashtra, and Shri. Rajeev Saxena, Joint Secretary (Textiles), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, were the esteemed guests of honor at the AGM.
During his speech to the ITTA members, Shri. Rajeev Saxena emphasized the vital role that ITTA has played in elevating the technical textile sector over the years as well as the industry’s vital role in liaising with the government, promoting innovation, sustainability, and growth within India’s textile industry. He recognized the important contributions made by ITTA to these fields, especially its participation in important bodies like the Empowered Programme Committee and the Mission Steering Group, which established scrutiny committees under NTTM to efficiently carry out the schemes.
“Two-thirds of the investments under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme are directed towards technical textiles.” According to Shri. Saxena, of the 60 crores that have been allotted, 40 crores are especially earmarked for this industry, demonstrating the government’s dedication to promoting innovation and expansion. He emphasized the need of innovation for the sector’s future and urged businesses to take part in R&D projects with a commercial orientation. 90% of these expenses will be paid for by the government, and businesses will keep their intellectual property rights (IPR) for three to four years. Additionally, he said that 11 more important technical textile goods will soon be subject to Quality Control Orders (QCOs) from the government. The goal of these regulations is to stop low-cost imported goods from being dumped into India, giving Indian businesses the chance to improve their supply chains and become more competitive.
In response to the need that traditional textile producers expand into the technical textile market, Shri. Saxena asked ITTA to assist businesses in making the most of their excess capacity in order to increase output and profitability. In order to help the industry and spread technological information, he also recommended setting up seminars, workshops, and training and skill development programs in Tier-2 cities that have excess production capacity.
The State Textile Policy of Maharashtra was briefly introduced by Shri. Virendra Singh, with a primary emphasis on technical textiles. He outlined the main components of the program, which include the creation of six technical textile parks, one for each of the state’s income divisions. The program offers strong backing for the creation of these parks, including capital subsidies, infrastructure assistance, support for solar power plants, support for zero liquid discharge, and support for wastewater treatment facilities. In this regard, the Maharashtra Technical Textile Mission will be launched within the next two months, along with the issuance of an Expression of Interest (EoI). According to Shri. Singh, working with an industry association such as ITTA would help put state plans into action. To that end, the Textiles Department of the Government of Maharashtra and ITTA are about to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
In his speech, ITTA Chairman Shri Avinash Misar expressed his sincere thanks to the Ministry of Textiles for its steadfast support of the industry’s expansion. The availability of fundamental raw materials, such as specialized fibers, yarns, chemicals, and polymers, which are necessary for the manufacture of high-end technical textile goods but are not produced in India, is one of the major challenges that Shri. Misar brought to the attention of the government. He urged that Quality Control Orders (QCOs) is a welcome move, but it should not be imposed on upstream sector, like specialty raw materials which are not produced in India, as this could adversely affect the growth of upstream and downstream sectors.
The new ITTA initiatives for the year were announced by Dr. Anup Rakshit, Executive Director of ITTA. During the AGM, ITTA introduced two new membership categories: Associate and Student. This is an addition to the corporate membership that is already in place, brought forward in response to the many requests from individual entrepreneurs and startups looking to enter or already in the technical textile business.
Working with academic institutions to create “Education and Training Programs on Technical Textiles” especially for teachers and students is another targeted activity that ITTA does. Additionally, this will help the NTTM reach its aim of having trained staff for both industry and academic organizations. ITTA has taught more than 200 individuals thus far through its current Entrepreneurial Development Programs (EDPs).
The presentation of the “Lifetime Achievement Award” to Shri. Pramod Khosla, Chairman of Khosla Profil Pvt. Ltd., for his exceptional contributions to the technical textile sector and his enduring influence on the area, was a noteworthy event of the meeting. Along with Shri. Mohan Kavrie of Supreme Nonwovens and Shri. Yogesh Kusumgar of Kusumgar Corporates, Shri. Khosla was inducted into the “ITTA Hall of Fame.”
The following recipients of the ITTA-introduced Innovation Awards for exceptional achievements and developments in the technical textile sector were acknowledged: Five businesses
Apurv Gadekar and Neeraj Shrivastava of Garware Technical Fibres Ltd. spoke “Advancing Sustainability: Development of Ropes from Recycled Materials – Renew Ropes.”
Ms. Angeline Divya, Associate Vice President, SRF Ltd., is working on developing and commercializing coated fabric tank liners for food grade use in rural water storage.
Dr. Nandan Kumar, Managing Director of High Performance Textiles Pvt. Ltd., oversees the Innovative Inherent Flame-Retardant (IFR) Fabric for Arc-Flash Protection. Shri Ishaan Sharma, Director of Business Development, oversees the Flushable Biodegradable Sanitary Pads at Indo German Yarn & Fibres LLP. – Shri Rajiv Sajdeh, Partner on the Sustainable Personal Protection PROMYDE KARANW-2 WR 480 GSM Fabric
In order to facilitate targeted communication on technical textiles, TVC Media & Promotion Pvt. Ltd. and ITTA have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the collaborative launch of a new magazine, Technical Textiles Value Chain Magazine.