They are used in products that help protect people, improve machinery, and solve practical problems, such as in car parts, building materials, medical equipment, and safety gear.
The market is divided into 12 segments based on their application, for e.g. Sportech which manufactures Sports nets, parachutes, artificial grass and turfs.

About National Technical Textiles Mission

Aim: To make India a global leader in Technical Textiles with a budget of Rs. 1,480 crores till 2025-26.
Ministry: Ministry of Textiles.
Four Components:
- Research, Innovation and Development.
- Promotion and Market Development.
- Export Promotion.
- Education, Training, and Skill Development.
Objectives of NTTM: It aims to strengthen India's position as global leader in national textiles by developing an ecosystem around it.

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Why Technical Textiles are significant for India?

Diversified Applications: Indian Technical Textile market is equipped with diversified technical textile innovations.
- For instance, hometech has been used for Antiviral Mattress Protector.
- Agrotech has been used for UV Stabilised and Flexible Crop Support Net.
Increasing Demand: More consumers have now started to prefer technical textiles over traditional textiles as it fulfils their demand for flexible, durable, high-quality and high strength textiles in activewear or medical apparel.
- Similarly increasing population, rising birth rates and aging population continues to boost the demand for hygienic and personal care medical equipment (meditech), as well as buildtech segments.
Industrial Production: Indutech are technical textiles used in the industrial (manufacturing) applications like filtration, conveying, cleaning including solutions and products for mechanical engineering and for varieties of industries, e.g. conductive textiles and 3-D textile products.
Environmental Protection: Technical Textiles, especially Geotech and Oekotech are useful for environment protection – floor sealing, air cleaning, prevention of water pollution, wastewater recycling treatment, erosion protection and domestic water sewerage plants.
Supports Disaster Management: For instance, in Austria, Geotech barriers used to deflect avalanches from entering the reservoir.
Defense Modernization: Manufacturing of Protech based bullet proof jackets, protective wear, high strength composite materials under make in India can help in defense modernization.
Support for Key Sectors: Technical textiles enhance productivity and efficiency in critical sectors like agriculture, healthcare, transportation, and infrastructure, which are foundational to India's economy.
- Geotextiles in railway track construction (e.g., by Indian Railways under NIP) and geomembranes for water conservation (Jal Jeevan Mission) improve infrastructure durability, reducing maintenance costs and supporting long-term economic stability.

Other Steps taken to Promote Technical Textiles

PLI Scheme for Textiles: In order to promote domestic production of Technical Textiles, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme was launched, in addition to Man-Made Fabrics and Apparel.
PM MITRA Scheme: To boost the overall textile industry and value chain, especially MMF and Technical Textiles, Ministry of Textiles launched PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel Parks (MITRA) Scheme over a period of 7 years upto 2027-28.
SAMARTH Scheme: Samarth (Scheme For Capacity Building In Textile Sector) is a flagship skill development scheme by the Ministry of Textiles to provide demand-driven, placement oriented skilling programme to incentivize the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organized textile and related sectors.
New HSN Codes: In addition to 207 identified technical textiles items in 2019, development of 30+ new HSN Codes dedicated to technical textiles' products.
Mandatory Usage: Currently, 119 technical textiles products have been identified for mandatory usage across ten Central ministries/departments.

Challenges in Leveraging Technical Textiles

Lack of Awareness: Technical textile benefits remain unknown to the masses due to insufficient marketing and education.
Import Dependence: India imports significant technical textiles from China (low-cost products) and US/Europe (high-tech products).
- The absence of domestic specialty fiber manufacturing (carbon fibers, Nylon 66, UHMPE) and inverted duty structures favor importing finished goods over raw materials.
Skilled Workforce Shortage: The industry requires specialized skills currently absent in the domestic workforce.
- Current training schemes focus on traditional textiles rather than developing specific technical textile curricula.
Insufficient R&D: The industry is dominated by commodity products with limited product diversification.
- Despite government-established Centers of Excellence, industry mindset needs to shift toward innovation and research investment.
Standardization Issues: Harmonization of Technical Textiles HSN codes and alignment with international standards remains a challenge, complicating trade and quality control.

Way forward

Strengthen Research and Development (R&D): Prioritize R&D in high-growth segments like Geotech, Meditech, and Agrotech by collaborating with the premiere institutes so as to support cutting edge innovation.
Increase Export Competitiveness: By harmonizing Indian standards with global norms to enhance product acceptance in international markets.
Focus on Sustainability and Circular Economy: Promote the use of natural fibers and eco-friendly products like Agrotech nets and Geotech erosion control solutions to align with India's vision of Mission LiFE.
Leverage Global Best Practices: Adopt advanced manufacturing techniques from leaders like the USA (Sportech innovations) and Germany (Geotech applications) or Israel (Protech innovation) to improve technology readiness levels.