India now focuses on technical textile
After the traditional textiles, India is now focusing on a new and highly lucrative area of business -- technical textile.
Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran has made a strong pitch for technical textile, a largely fledgling sector in India as far as Indian garment manufacturers are concerned.
Addressing a conference organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here on Wednesday, he asked Indian manufacturers to focus on technical textile segment, which is growing at 11 percent per year and is poised to touch $14 billion in the next three years. The current size of the market is about $8 billion.
Maran said technical textile has the potential to attract investment worth Rs 5,000 crore and generate employment of around three lakh by the year 2012.
Technical textile has a huge potential with application in several areas like health, construction, defence, agriculture, aerospace and sports, he said.
However, there was not enough demand and trained manpower to tap the full potential of technical textile in India, Maran said, adding: “We want to end this”.
India has some indigenous productions but product range was confined to traditional goods like tarpaulin, jute carpet backing, fishing nets and surgical dresses. The country is largely import-dependent on products like hessian, baby and adult diaper, surgical gowns and other protective clothes, wipes and hoses.
Technical textile worth about Rs 4,000 crore is imported annually mainly from Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Germany and Italy, Maran said.
The textile ministry would organise four workshops with FICCI here in September to promote dialogue with the industry and end-users in some major areas of technical textile.
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