Govt To Provide Up To INR 50 Lakh Grant To Startups To Promote Technical Textiles

The Centre will provide a grant of up to INR 50 Lakh to startups to promote technical textiles in the country.

The grant would be provided under the Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT) approved by the Ministry of Textiles to make India a global leader in technical textiles, said Rajeev Saxena, joint secretary in the ministry.

Technical textiles are manufactured for their technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic and decorative features. They are used across industries such as automobiles, civil engineering and construction, and agriculture. The Centre has been looking to boost local manufacturing in technical textiles and launched the National Technical Textile Mission for this.

Under the new guidelines, the ministry will also provide 10% of total grant-in-aid to incubators. It has also approved a total funding of INR 151 Cr for 26 institutes for upgrading the laboratories and developing and introducing courses on technical textiles. 

IIT Delhi, NIT Jalandhar, NIT Durgapur, NIT Karnataka, NIFT Mumbai, ICT Mumbai, Anna University, PSG College of Technology, and Amity University are among the institutes which will be funded. 

Notably, the funding will primarily focus on upgradation of existing courses related to textile technology. 

“With a strong emphasis on developing the startup ecosystem in technical textiles, the guidelines focus on supporting individuals and companies to translate prototypes to technologies & products including commercialization,” the ministry said in a statement.

Saxena also said that the government has already notified two quality control orders (QCOs) for 31 technical textile products, including 19 geotextiles and 12 protective textiles, which will come into effect from October 7, 2023. 

It must be noted that commerce minister Piyush Goyal last year called for promoting startups in areas like technical textiles.

According to Statista, the technical textile industry was valued at approximately $22 Bn in FY22 and is estimated to reach a size of $309 Bn by 2047. 

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