By Seshadri Ramkumar
Texas Tech University, USA

The government of India estimates the Indian technical textiles sector to reach $36 billion (Rs. 1,60,000 crore) by 2016-17 and the annual estimated growth is about 20%. Indian government is promoting the growth of technical textiles sector by creating new Centers of Excellence and market research and support programs.

Sujit Gulati, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles India, while giving a one day seminar on technical textiles in the South Indian city of Coimbatore, emphasized the need for inter-ministerial coordination involving Ministry of Textiles, Health and Highways to grow the nascent technical textiles sector. The conference was jointly organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Ministry of Textiles in Coimbatore on July 26, 2011.

During the conference, Anil Joshi, Textiles Commissioner of India emphasized the need for implementing technical textiles to improve the hygiene and medical sector in India.

Govindhan Ramakrishnan, a professor of textiles and a delegate who attended the conference spoke from Coimbatore and insisted that market awareness and the knowledge of converted products are essential for the growth of technical textiles sector in India. India offers enormous opportunities for collaborators to conduct knowledge enriching workshops to boost the technical textiles sector.