Opinion: India Aspires to Enhance Agriculture and Boost Advanced Textiles
February 4, 2020 The Indian government’s budget, presented February 1, focuses on five priorities – health care, respecting wealth creators, agricultural growth, happy living and national defense.
Included in the budget were 16 points to enhance agriculture aimed at doubling farmers’ income by 2022, including a four-year national technical textiles mission to help boost growth and domestic development and reduce the need for imports.
The Government of India has promoted this sector by creating awareness, including my assistance in bringing international associations such as the Association of Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA), Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry and American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) to the country. In 2006, I collaborated with AATCC in an international event on “Advances in Fibrous Materials, Nonwoven and Technical Textiles” in Coimbatore – the first ever participation by INDA’s representative presenting global market statistics on nonwovens.
Textile mills have also responded favorably to the abolition of an antidumping duty on purified terephthalic acid (PTA) imports – an important input for polyester fibers. “This gesture is of help to the synthetic fibers industry, as India imports it from Thailand and South Korea in addition to domestic sources,” stated Krishnasamy Pothiraj, consultant with Shubhalakshmi Polyesters, Ltd. “As approximately 0.85 Kg of PTA is required for 1 Kg of polyester fiber manufacturing, availability and competitive prices will help the textile industry.” His company consumes about 700 tons of PTA daily for the manufacture of fibers and filaments.
“An emphasis on infrastructure such as the building of over 100 airports, skill development programs and cold storage facilities in railways will support industrial growth,” stated Sridhar Narayanan, FICCI, Tamil Nadu State Convener, Education Sector. He added that the hosting of G-20 presidency in 2022 is a confidence booster. Supporting MSME and start-ups will enable much needed in-house employment generation. Start-ups such WellGro United need to utilize initiatives such as “Make in India” and develop value-added textiles.
Shanmugam Velmurugan, general manager of Jayalakshmi Textiles, a 72,000-spindle cotton mill, noted that the textile sector should utilize the national mission on technical textiles proposed in the budget to diversity. Availability of quality cotton all throughout the year at competitive price is critical for cotton spinners, he added.
On a personal note, it is pleasing to see the continuing support for growing the advanced textiles sector with the national mission initiative proposed in the budget, as I have been part of this journey since my initial awareness effort in India on research in advanced textiles in Fall 1999 in Coimbatore.
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