Smriti Irani calls for innovation in tech textiles sector

Mumbai: Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani Tuesday released HSN codes for technical textiles that is expected to act as a catalyst for achieving the market size of up to Rs 2 lakh crore by 2020-21. "The HSN codes for technical textiles is expected to benefit 900 million farmers in the country. It is a step that will help us grow to over Rs 2 lakh crore in the tech textile sector," the minister said after releasing HSN codes for technical textiles at the National Conclave on Technical Textiles here.

To fulfil long-standing demand of industry to declare technical textile items as separate category, the government has notified 207 HSN codes as technical textiles. It will give major boost to the sunrise sector, she said. In order to help the potential investors to enter into technical textiles, ministry has set up Focus Incubation Centres (FIC), Irani said.

"We have also focused on incubation centres and set up 11 such centres in the country. Under the aegis of textile ministry we have undertaken 40 geo textile projects for roads, water reservoirs and ensured that our farmers embraces agro tech at 54 agro tech demonstration centres and distribute kits, which basically tells them how to use agro tech in their day-to-day working across the country," the minister added. Around 530 prototype campus have been developed under the textile ministry in 4 years and 8 centres of excellence has already been set up at the cost of close to a Rs 140 crore.

"We have already trained over 22,000 Indians only in this area of technical textiles in the past 3-4 years," she added. But our capacity to grow and touch the sky is only possible with the industry partnership and farmer participation, she said. "In one such participation, we will be setting up an innovation centre for technical textile in the hub of the national capital next month with the support of the industry," she added.