National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) | 19 Sep 2022

For Prelims: Ministry of Textiles, National Technical Textiles Mission, Make in India, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles Sector

For Mains: Significance of Technical Textile in the Indian Economy

Why in News?

The Ministry of Textiles recently cleared 23 strategic research projects worth around Rs 60 crores in Specialty fibres, Sustainable Textiles, Geotextiles, Mobiltech and Sports textiles under the National Technical Textiles Mission.

What are Technical Textiles?

  • Technical textiles are functional fabrics that have applications across various industries including automobiles, civil engineering and construction, agriculture, healthcare, industrial safety, personal protection etc.
    • Technical Textile products derive their demand from the development and industrialization in a country.
  • Based on usage, there are 12 technical textile segments: Agrotech, Meditech, Buildtech, Mobiltech, Clothtech, Oekotech, Geotech, Packtech, Hometech, Protech, Indutech and Sportech.
    • For example, ‘mobiltech’ refers to products in vehicles such as seat belts and airbags, airplane seats; geotech, which is incidentally the fastest growing sub-segment, used to hold back soil, etc.

What do we know about the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM)?

  • About:
    • It was approved in 2020 by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) with total outlay of Rs.1480 Crore.
    • The implementation period is four years, from FY 2020-21 to FY 2023-24.
  • Aim:
    • The aim of the mission is to position India as a global leader in Technical Textiles by taking the domestic market size from USD 40 billion to USD 50 billion by 2024.
    • It also supports the ‘Make in India’ Initiative promoting domestic manufacturing of related machinery and equipment.
  • Components:
    • First component: It will focus on research, development and innovation with an outlay of Rs. 1,000 crores.
      • The research will be at both fiber level and application-based in geo, agro, medical, sports and mobile textiles and the development of biodegradable technical textiles.
      • Research activities will also focus on the development of indigenous machinery and process equipment.
    • Second component: It will be for the promotion and development of the market for technical textiles.
      • The penetration level of technical textiles is low in India varying between 5-10% against the level of 30-70% in developed countries.
      • The Mission will aim at an average growth rate of 15-20% per annum by 2024.
    • Third component: It will focus on export promotion so that technical textile exports from the country reach from Rs 14,000 crores to Rs 20,000 crores by 2021-2022 and ensure 10% average growth every year till the Mission ends.
      • An export promotion council for technical textiles will be set up.
    • Fourth component: It will focus on education, training and skill development.
      • The Mission will promote technical education at higher engineering and technology levels related to technical textiles and its application areas.
  • Scenario of Textile sector:
    • The growth of technical textiles in India has gained momentum in the past five years, currently growing at an 8% per annum rate.
      • It aims to hasten this growth to the 15-20% range during the next five years.
    • Indian Technical Textiles segment is estimated at USD 16 Billion which is approximately 6% of the 250 billion USD global technical textiles market.
      • The biggest players are the USA, western Europe, China and Japan (20-40% share).
  • Implementation & Governance:
    • The mission will be implemented via a three-tier institutional mechanism which will consist of the following:
      • Mission Steering Group: The group will be authorized to approve all financial norms with respect to schemes, components and programme of the mission.
        • The group will also be entrusted with the responsibility of approving all scientific and technological research projects under the mission.
      • Empowered Programme Committee: The committee will be required to approve all projects (except research projects) within the financial limits of various programs as approved by the Mission Steering Group.
        • The committee will also be entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of various components of the mission.
      • Committee on Technical Textiles on Research, Development & Innovation: This committee will be responsible for the identification and recommendation of research projects to the Mission Steering Group for approval.
        • These projects will be related to strategic sectors such as space, security, defence, para-military, and atomic energy.

What are the Other Initiatives Related to Technical Textile?

  • Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles Sector: It aims to promote the production of high-value Man-Made Fiber (MMF) fabrics, garments and technical textiles.
  • Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) Codes for Technical Textile: In 2019, the Government of India dedicated 207 HSN codes to technical textiles to help in monitoring the data of import and export, in providing financial support and other incentives to manufacturers.
  • 100% FDI under Automatic Route: The Government of India allows 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) under the automatic route. International technical textile manufacturers such as Ahlstrom, Johnson & Johnson etc have already initiated operations in India.
  • Technotex India: It is a flagship event organized by the Ministry of Textiles, in collaboration with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and comprises exhibitions, conferences and seminars with the participation of stakeholders from across the global technical textile value chain.
  • Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme: To improve exports and indirectly promote investments in textile machinery.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Prelims

Q. Consider the following pairs: (2018)

Craft Heritage of
1. Puthukkuli shawls Tamil Nadu
2. Sujni embroidery Maharashtra
3. Uppada Jamdani Karnataka saris

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2
(c) 3 only
(d) 2 and 3

Ans: (a)

Exp:

  • Puthukkuli Shawls: The embroidered textile of the Todas is used as a mantle/shawl or cloak and is called Putkuli in the Toda native language. It is made by Todas of Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu. Locally called Pugur, meaning flower, the fine and intricate Toda embroidery is done by tribal men and women on shawls. Hence, pair 1 is correctly matched.
  • Sujni Embroidery: Also known as Sujani, it is a form of embroidery originating from the Bhusura village of Bihar in India. In ancient times, it was considered as a form of quilting wherein old saris and dhotis were used as a creative canvas, the cloth was folded twice or thrice and then simple stitches were done on these used clothing to add newness to them. Hence, pair 2 is not correctly matched.
  • Uppada Jamdani Saris: These are diaphanous silk saris that trace their origin to Uppada in Andhra Pradesh. Jamdani itself is a hand-woven fabric that is also known as muslin. The word Jamdani roughly translates to flower vase (where ‘Jam’ means flower and ‘Dani’ means vase). It is also said that this technique of weaving has Bengali roots. Hence, pair 3 is not correctly matched. Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

Mains

Q. Analyse the factors for highly decentralized cotton textile industry in India. (2013)

Source: PIB