Need to address issue of lack of manpower in technical textiles sector: Smriti Irani ahead of Technotex-2017 expo

Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Textiles, Government of India, on Tuesday underlined the need to address the issue of lack of manpower in the technical textiles for which industry needed to first define the requisite skills. After defining the skills, the task would be to bridge the gap in which the industry would be supported adequately by the Government of India.

Addressing a curtain raiser of Technotex-2017, Irani assured that the government would consistently and constantly engage with the industry to create standards for the technical textiles sector. She added, "The industry needs to come forward and utilise platforms such as Technotex for convergence of efforts."

Technotex-2017 is India's premier show on technical textiles which will be organised by FICCI jointly with the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The sixth edition of the international exhibition, conference and seminars will be held from April 12 to 14, 2017 in Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai. The event will showcase products from various sub-sectors of technical textiles such as Indutech, Meditech, Mobiltech, Ecotech, Geotech, Packtech, Protech, Sportetch, Agrotech, Clothtech, technical textiles equipment and machinery, raw materials and textile manufacturing services.

Technotex is expected to draw in more than 200 exhibitors, looking to showcase a varied collection of technical textiles from the various sub-sectors of the technical textiles industry. With participation from countries like Korea, Switzerland, Japan, U.S.A., Germany, Sweden, Belgium, the U.K., Luxembourg, Austria, Italy and more, the event will also have country pavilions of Taiwan and China. A gateway to the technical textile arena, the event bridges the gap between the buyer and seller by facilitating B2B (Business-to-Business) and G2B (Government-to-Business) meetings.

Irani said, "Agrotech and Geo textiles must be represented at Technotex as the sectors have great untapped potential. Technotex stakeholders should engage with agri-institutes and urban local bodies to create awareness among them regarding the advantages of agrotech such as less consumption of water and better productivity and of geo textiles such as environment-friendly sustainable growth, respectively."

On the occasion, Irani released the Standards on Technical Textiles and brochure of the event. The release of the standards marks a vital step towards the ministry's efforts of standardisation of the technical textile products in India.

Alka Panda, Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), said, "BIS has constituted specialised committees to expedite the process of developing standards. She urged the industry to actively participate with BIS and help in developing standards. BIS was looking forward to industry's suggestions on standardisation as this would spur innovations."

Dr. Kavita Gupta, Textile Commissioner, Office of the Textile Commissioner, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, in her presentation said, "There was a need for increased involvement of user institutions; development of indigenous specially fibers; development of standards; focus on research and development and encouragement of JVs and attracting investment in manufacturing technical textiles machinery."

Mr. Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman, FICCI Technical Textiles Committee and Managing Director, Ginni Filaments, briefed the industry about the various initiatives of FICCI for the technical textile industry and the progress of TECHNOTEX 2017. He spoke about the future and development of technical textile industry in India and emphasised on the importance of accelerating usage and promoting investments pertaining to the growth of the technical textile industry, which is referred to as the sunrise sector. He said, "The sector was in need of skilled manpower, standards and regulations for transparent growth."

In his theme perspective, Mohan Kavrie, Managing Director, Supreme Group, said, "While the government was trying to promote this sector, the industry was lagging behind. There was a need for entrepreneurs to step forward and look for innovative fabrics to promote use of technical textiles for daily use."

A short film on Indian Technical Textile Industry and Technotex-2016 was screened for the benefit of the stakeholders.

Also present were Puneet Agrawal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and Vinay Mathur, Deputy Secretary General, FICCI.