Centre working on major interventions to position India as global textiles hub: Secy

NEW DELHI: The Centre is working on major interventions to position India as a global hub in the manmade fibre and technical textiles segments, including setting up five integrated mega textiles parks, a state-of-the-art world class testing lab and bringing a Focused Product Scheme, a top official said on Wednesday.
Emphasising that India must explore the USD 150 billion global manmade fibre (MMF) market, Textiles Secretary Ravi Capoor also said he is in talks with the Department of Higher Education for introduction of courses in universities and technical institutions like engineering colleges for creation of specialised manpower in the MMF and technical textiles segments.

Addressing a CII conference virtually, Capoor said an evaluation study led by Niti Aayog on the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) of the textiles ministry has revealed that Rs 13,000 crore worth machinery was being imported by India and the country has reached nowhere in terms of technology upgradation except in the spinning segment.

He said the government is also willing to offer capital investment subsidy for setting up machine manufacturing plants to textile industry players interested in forging joint ventures, provided the foreign partner agrees to supply machines to domestic firms at a particular price.

"We want to make India a very strong base for technical textiles," Capoor said, adding that a Focused Product Scheme offering production-linked incentives was "almost ready" and will lay special emphasis on the MMF and technical textiles segments.

He said the ministry was in a "very advanced stage of encouraging some mega textile parks", starting with about five such parks with integrated facilities and quick turnaround time for minimising transportation losses, eyeing big ticket investments in the sector.

He also said the ministry will soon consult industry players on the new Textiles Policy, which lays out the future roadmap for India to move ahead in the sector.

Capoor said a report by the International Cotton Advisory Committee projects that by 2025-2030, the share of cotton in the global market will be limited to about 16 per cent, whereas the remaining 84 per cent will come from MMF and blends, and India must be in sync with this global trend.

Technical textiles include textiles made for automotive applications, medical textiles, geotextiles, agrotextiles, and protective clothing, among others.