The Indian Government has urged industry players to invest in technical textiles as its market is likely to double to about Rs 2 lakh crore by 2022, a top official said. With growing economy and rising disposable income, the demand for technical textile products is bound to increase, creating lucrative opportunities for investment, said the official.
"The size of the Indian technical textiles market is about Rs 1 lakh crore. For the past four years, the sector has been growing at a CAGR of 12 per cent. For the next four, it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 20 per cent and reach the Rs 2-lakh-crore mark. We want domestic and foreign investors to invest in this sector," said Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta in Ahmedabad. The Textile Commissioner was in Ahmedabad to promote the upcoming ‘Technotex 2018’ – the international exhibition and conference on technical textiles – to be held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai on June 28-29.
Gupta said that the government is also providing incentives to the tune of 15 per cent on capital investments in the sector. Despite this, in a global scenario, the growth in technical textiles is not as encouraging as expected. The per capita consumption of technical textiles in India is 3-4 kg as compared to 30-40 kg per capita in other countries. The government is betting high on Gujarat to fuel the growth in this sector.
Chairman of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Rajiv Vastupal, urged businesses in Gujarat to make the most of the upcoming expo. "This is a unique platform which has made it easy to mobilise investments, forge alliances and JVs, enhance trade, project collaborations, and much more for the Indian manufacturers," said Vastupal. Shailesh Patwari, president of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), said that India still has to import technical textiles and so it is necessary to increase the capacity within the country.