3| P a g e

Technical Textiles in India - A dormant volcano prepares to erupt…

MILIN PATEL

Textile Engineering Dept. FACULTY OF TECH. & ENGG., M.S.UNIVERSITY OF BARODA, VADODARA.

ABSTRACT:- India is rising and moving ahead with opportunities in every sector. For the past four

years India’s GDP has grown up to 8%, and is assumed to remain consistent at 8-9% for

coming years. According to Goldman Sachs, India’s economy will exceed the economy of

Europe and Japan by 2030 and that of the US by 2045.Such a growth is possible because of

the increase in household incomes and the predicted growth in agriculture, manufacturing and

service sectors. Also the consumer spending level is growing over 5% per annum which has

resulted in the on-going growth of organized retail sectors.

Talking about the technical textile industry in India, it is said to be its initial stage as it

contributes only 3% of total consumption. But, it would be wrong to say that India’s technical

textile industry is still sleeping. It has woken up to the enormous potential of the technical

textile sector and is predicted to grow faster in next two decades than the growth withstand by

US and Europe in last three decades. This is said to become possible with the growing middle

class, young and educated population. And Technical Textile would be one of the most

promising sectors in this growth.

And the factors like, the global economic change, strong government support, the

introduction of appropriate legislation, the development of tests and standards, and

widespread recognition of the need for more trained personnel, etc. also playing the valuable

role in driving the industry to the farthest destination. Thus it won’t be wrong to say that,

“Technical Textiles in India- A sleeping volcano prepares to erupt.”

INTRODUCTION:- Non-conventional textiles encompassing a wide spectrum of end-applications raised a

debate as to whether the term industrial textiles used so far is appropriate to be continued, or

it is time now that "industrial textiles" having specific meaning should include those products

used as part of industrial processes or which are incorporated in some way into industrial

products. Textiles used for medicine, defense, agriculture, fishing, etc. do not attach any

specific meaning to "industry" but for the age-old practice of using the term "industrial

textiles". Today, the term Technical Textiles has emerged as the most widely acceptable term

for this expanding field of textile applications. These technical textiles are defined as textile

materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional

properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics.

3| P a g e

With the growing dominance of technical textiles, Techtextil, Messe Frankfurt GmbH

has classified technical textiles into twelve groups from the application point of view. They

are as follows:

PRESENT SCENARIO OF TECHNICAL TEXTILES

Global Scenario:- India is the world second largest producer of textile and garments. The textile industry

in India contributes 14 % towards the GDP of USD 1.18 billion. This market itself being so

big, there is tremendous potential for technical textiles as well. Currently the consumption of

technical textiles in India forms only 3 % of

the total world consumption; however, it is

growing at a rate higher than most

developed countries.

The reasons for low penetration in

this market are several, such as scattered

production structure, inadequate research

and development (R&D), lack of skilled

personnel. Another major contributing factor

is that there is lack of awareness about the benefits of using technical textile and therefore

3| P a g e

leading to low consumption. So, India still has to make its presence felt in the world technical

textiles market, which earns that a highly unexploited market is waiting to be explored.

Growth Rates For Consumption Of

Technical Textile:- This is expected growth rates and from the

graph we can easily view out that India is

having 12% of growth rate consumption,

which is higher than other developed

countries.

Market Size Of Indian Technical Textile Industry:- India is emerging as a significant player in technical textiles. The fast-paced economic

growth leading to infrastructure creation as well as higher disposable income has made India

a key market for the technical textile

products. Moreover, the country has

developed a foothold in the production of

technical textiles owing to its skilled and

technical manpower as well as abundant

availability of raw-material. More

investments are underway in this sector;

as per the Ministry of Textiles, as on

September 2010, 26,163 applications for

technical textile projects with a project

cost of US$ 14.5 billion were disbursed

under Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS).

Indian Technical Textile industry is estimated at Rs 41,756 Crore (2007-08), with

domestic consumption of Rs. 38,835 Crore. The Industry has witnessed a significant growth

of 16% from 2001-02 to 2009-10 and, is expected to grow at a rate of 11% year-on-year and

reach a market size of Rs. 70,151Crore by the year (2012-13), with domestic consumption of

Rs. 65,722 by the year 2012-13. The segment wise estimated market size and domestic

consumption of technical textile in India in year 2007-08 and projection for the year 2012-13

are given in table below:

Source:- Survey of Technical Textile industry in INDIA, ECTT, IMaCS Analysis

3| P a g e

Domestic Consumption (RS crore)

Market size

(Rs crore)

SUB BRANCHES OF

T.T

2007-2008 2012-2013 2007-2008 2012-2013

Agrotech 487 709 553 811

Meditech 1514 2263 1669 2490

Mobiltech 3161 5137 3183 5166

Packtech 14067 25913 14630 26753

Sportech 2632 4358 2851 4761

Buildtech 1726 2655 2157 3232

Clothtech 6570 9665 6908 10225

Hometech 4791 8420 5025 8748

Protech 1259 2021 1302 2075

Geotech 185 326 272 454

Oekotech 68 160 68 160

Indutech 2443 4255 3206 5437

Total 38835 65722 41756 70151

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR SLOW GROWTH RATE OF TECHNICAL

TEXTILE INDUSTRY AND STRATEGIES TO STIMULATE THE DEMAND The factors responsible for the slow growth rate of technical textile industry in India can

be mainly in two categories as mentioned follows:

1. Supply Side Factors

2. Demand Side Factors

1. Supply Side Factors

Deterrents for Entrepreneurs

In order to promote the production of technical textiles, the first and foremost need would

be to attract entrepreneurs in the field of technical textiles. Entrepreneurs have so far kept

away from the technical textiles in view of the following deterrents:

(i) Technical textile and marketing aspects thereof are highly complex. Indian entrepreneurs

in textiles have so far not faced this complex situation and therefore, may have genuine

doubts and apprehensions about success in such ventures.

(ii) Specific technical textiles demand specific raw materials, machinery and equipment,

mostly to be imported and therefore, requiring huge capital towards the project cost.

(iii) Technical textiles being at an evolving stage in India, generation of technology for

product development and establishing specific markets with adequate volumes require huge

working capital for a minimum period of 5 years before the entrepreneur could expect fruits

of high value addition usually associated with technical textiles. Besides, market

development will require sustained promotional efforts which need substantial investments as

well as lead time.

3| P a g e

(iv) Developed countries have reached a point of saturation or maturity in bulk of the

technical textiles and they are gearing up to enter developing countries including India in a

competitive manner in globalized markets. They have the backing of overall experience in

various facets of technical textiles and financial muscle, while Indian entrepreneurs have little

or no experience in this direction.

(v) India being a developing country, the existing norms and mandatory requirements of

technical textiles for specific end applications are either outdated or non-existing. As a result,

entrepreneurs have an uphill task of introducing technical textiles to end users in the Indian

market.

Higher cost of raw material

Raw material in India is costly, as most of the raw material is needed to be imported

from the foreign countries.

Attempts should be made to use indigenously available fibers - both natural and

manmade, for the technical textile products. However, it is not a deterrent to import of high

performance fibers for specific products where volume is less development of polymer

technology will be prohibitively costly.

To exploit the traditional eco-friendly natural fibers like cotton, jute, coir, hemp,etc. by

product diversification with value addition for medical textiles, agro textiles etc.

The growth in industry will provide raw material at cheaper rate as the competitive

market would be created.

Low investment in R&D and product innovation

Research & development, consultancy, quality management, testing and evaluation hold

the key to the success of capturing a substantial share of the competitive global market of

technical textiles. Accordingly substantial investment in R & D is unavoidable.

Strong world class testing facilities for accurate and relevant evaluation of technical

textile must be made available in India to satisfy the stringent and critical requirements of

performance related products parameters in the global market.

Since most of the technical textiles lose almost their total market value if any of the

parameters fails to conform to the specifications, the quality control and quality culture

should be of a high order to ensure "Right the First Time and Right Every Time".

Lack of skilled manpower/management

The manpower available in India is not too skilled in their technical and managerial

skills. But, India having a large population labor is cheaper so the companies are attracted.

Thus the people are needed to be made trained and educated.

Lack of regulatory Norms by the Government

So far, no attempt has been made by the Government to boost the market development of

technical textiles. For example, there is no legislation for mandatory use of the fire retardant

fabrics in high-rise buildings, in public places like exhibitions, cinema halls etc. There is no

3| P a g e

environmental legislation for the use of geotextiles and geo-membranes in waste containment

for disposal of hazardous wastes as well as for industrial and municipal effluent treatment

facilities. Technical developments need support from a regulatory framework based on

scientific rationale. For example, airbag technology in automobile is identified as a future

prospect in western countries because there is a regulation that new car on road must

incorporate airbag technology for the safety of the driver and passengers. Similarly, infant

garments in U.S. must be fire retardant, which compels production of such textiles.

2. Demand Side Factors

Consumer demand for disposable and non-disposable products

Demand for industrial products like geotextiles, packtech, medtech, agrotech...

Some disciplines needs are emerging which would take care of demand factors…..

E.g. operating room textiles, fire protective textiles, Industrial clothing’s, etc…

Conclusion Textile contributes 14% towards GDP of US $ 1.18 billion. Technical Textile has also

tremendous potential to the textile market. Currently the consumption of technical textile is 3%

which is expected to be 11% . this will lead to several benefits, viz.:-

1. Manufacturers will become educated and they will invest in building their brands

2. Entry of large manufacturers will result in price decrease, and in providing consumers same

products at cheaper rates – same as mobile phone industry

3. Job opportunities will develop indirectly.

4. Increase in export will lead to increase in market value of india

Only way to proceed is cross this hurdle by addressing supply side issues

to stimulate demand….