The Ministry of Textiles is furthering its commitment to the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) through recent approvals that aim to bolster start-ups, expand educational opportunities, and enhance skill development within the sector.
During the 10th Empowered Programme Committee (EPC) meeting, chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles in New Delhi, significant advancements were made. The committee approved grants for four start-ups, each receiving approximately INR 50 Lakhs under the ‘Grant for Research & Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT)’ scheme. These start-up projects are strategically focused on key areas of Medical Textiles, Industrial Textiles, and Protective Textiles.
Furthermore, a grant of approximately INR 6.5 Cr was approved for three education institutes to introduce courses in Technical Textiles under the ‘General Guidelines for Enabling of Academic Institutes in Technical Textiles’. IIT Indore and NIT Patna are among the approved institutes. The new institutes will introduce courses in Geotextiles, Geosynthetics, Protective Textiles, and Sports Textiles in their course curriculum.
In addition, the committee gave the green light to 12 Skill Development Courses spanning Medical Textiles, Protective Textiles, Mobile Textiles, and Agriculture Textiles. These courses were developed by three Textile Research Associations: SITRA, NITRA, and SASMIRA. These programs are designed to provide comprehensive training to all stakeholders across the technical textiles value chain.
The National Technical Textiles Mission was launched in 2020-21 and has been extended till 2025-26, with a financial outlay of Rs 1,480 crore. India is aiming for USD 10 billion worth of technical textile exports by 2025-26.