Textile research associations asked to utilise allocated funds

Textile research associations across the country should utilise the funds allocated under Technology Mission for Technical Textiles (TMTT), Textile Commissioner Kavitha Gupta said today.
In her address to the 56th Joint Technological conference of four major textile research associations -- BTRA, SITRA, ATIRA and NITRA -- Gupta said the fund utilisation on average was 76.51 per cent, with Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) utilising only 33.44 per cent.
Stating that there was no constraint for funds to support the sector, she said of the Rs 9 crore released out of the allocated Rs 13.5 crore, BTRA's Centre of Excellence for Geotech had utilised only Rs 3.01 crore.

While South India Textile Research (SITRA) has utilised Rs 9.72 crore of the released fund of Rs 11.43 crore, Ahmedabad Textile Industry Research Association (ATIRA) has kept pending Rs 2.46 crore of the release amount of Rs 22.99 crore, she said.
Describing technical textiles as the future of the industry, she said the market size is projected to increase from Rs 75,925 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 1,58,540 crore in 2016-17, with a growth rate of 20 per cent year-on-year.
South India Mills' Association (SIMA) Chairman M Senthilkumar said from 2003 onwards, the government has cut the fund allocation to these associations drastically.

Most of the old textile mills, which were pillars of SITRA, got closed and most of the new textile units established in the post-liberalised era hardly extended any support to the association, he said, adding that they availed all the benefits indirectly.
Stating that all the research associations had become financially weak and unable to attract and retain talent, Senthilkumar said the 7th Pay Commission's proposed pay scales might aggravate the situation.