India’s technical textiles market stands as the 5th largest market globally.
The Ministry of Textiles, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Ahmedabad Textiles Industries’ Research Associations (ATIRA), had arranged a National Symposium on Advancements in Composites, Speciality Fibres, and Chemicals in New Delhi.
Rachna Shah, Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles, in her speech at the symposium, expressed that India’s Technical Textiles market had significant potential, marked by a growth rate of 10 per cent and its standing as the 5th largest technical textiles market globally.
She further elaborated that composites possessed distinct structural and physical characteristics, rendering them suitable for specific applications across diverse sectors like infrastructure development, aerospace, automotive, military and defence, medical devices, among others. She underscored the importance of institutional buyers, user Ministries, and industries in adopting technical textiles and specialty fibre products. She stressed the necessity for a collaborative approach among stakeholders including industry representatives, policymakers, researchers, and investors to address cost implications and enhance awareness and education for wider adoption of these products.
Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Member of NITI Aayog, emphasised that specialty fibres served as the foundation of advanced composites and their selection was strategic, considering performance requirements and cost factors. He mentioned various specialty fibres like aramids, carbon fibre, zylon, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), glass fibre, ceramic fibre, and their applications in diverse fields such as Fire Retardant fabrics, Bullet Resistant Jackets, ropes and cables, windmills, and gas and chemical filtration. He also discussed trends in composite materials including high-performance resins, carbon fibre-based materials, biomaterials, nanocomposites, intelligence design, and manufacturing.
He elaborated on the continuous evolution of advanced composites and specialty fibres through research, emphasising future developments aimed at enhancing strength, stiffness, thermal properties, and introducing self-healing capabilities. Dr. Saraswat stressed the importance of adopting sustainable practices in the composites industry for its future growth.
Ajay Kumar Rana, Director General of RDSO, discussed the utilisation of geotextiles and geo-composites in the railways sector, emphasising their applications in load bearing, erosion protection, drainage, separation, and filtration. He mentioned on-going efforts by RDSO in developing guidelines and standards for the use of geo-composites in the railways sector.
Rajeev Saxena, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles, highlighted the rapid growth of the technical textiles industry and its potential to drive productivity, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and innovation across various applications. He outlined the NTTM mission aimed at positioning India as a global leader in technical textiles and discussed various guidelines related to research, innovation, start-ups, machinery development, internship, education, and skilling under the mission.
While emphasising the significance of composites, he noted the increasing replacement of conventional materials with textile composite materials in several fields.
Nilesh M Desai, Director of Space Applications Centre (SAC/ISRO), mentioned SAC’s association with ATIRA and highlighted the growing importance of composites in space and aerospace applications due to their lightweight and durable properties, mentioning the predominant use of CFRP and Asto glass fibres.
Approximately 150 participants, including officials and representatives from Central Ministries, user Departments of Central and State Governments, industry leaders, scientific experts, researchers, and professionals related to technical textiles, attended the conference.