The Ministry of Textiles in partnership with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organized the 5th National Conclave on Standards for Technical Textiles, Building Standards for India@2047 here today.
The conclave was inaugurated by Shri U P Singh, Secretary, and Ministry of Textiles. It encompassed a wide array of sessions and discussions on standards and regulations covering different areas of Technical Textiles including ProTech & Specialty Fibres, AgroTech & MediTech, GeoTech & BuidTech, MobilTech, Composites and InduTech.
300 representatives including Officials and Representatives from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Line Ministries and Departments of the Central Government, State Governments, and Eminent Industrialists from India attended through hybrid mode (Physical and Virtual).
Speaking at the inaugural session of the conclave, Shri U P Singh, Secretary Ministry of Textiles highlighted that the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) and PLI in Textiles to support the penetration and exports of technical textiles in India. He added that standards provide a facilitating framework for technical textiles’ manufacturers in India. Continuous adoption and upgradation of the standards for each product category and segment will have a positive impact on the consumption of technical textile products in India, he further emphasized.
He emphasized that development and adoption of Indian standards for high-end Technical Textiles is the need of the hour. Need to examine the possibility of Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for some of the Technical Textiles from safety, health and environment standpoint.
A collaborative approach between Ministry of Textiles, Bureau of Indian Standards, Research Organizations, Industry and Academia to work together closely in identification of gaps and work towards harmonization of Indian technical textile standards with the global standards. Government will endeavor to provide all the needed support to promote Indian technical textiles sector across the world, added Shri U P Singh.
During the Keynote address, Lt. Gen. Shri Rajeev Chaudhry, VSM, Director General, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) emphasized on the active role of BRO in driving the wide usage of Geo-textiles products including Geogrid, Geocells, Geofabrics and Geodrains across different road construction projects at borders, mountains and rain infested areas of India.
He further added that the BRO has collaborated with industry and academia for development of new material & technology solutions. Thus, standardization of these products play an important role in further increasing the usage, going forward.
Shri Rajeev Sharma, Deputy Director General (Standardization) BIS highlighted that over 500 standards have already been formulated for technical textile products by BIS in India since 2011 and further 40+ standards are being developed in close coordination with Ministry of Textiles, Industries and other Line Ministries and Departments.
BIS has undertaken several initiatives to fast-track the formulation and harmonization of standards for technical textiles including Formation of specialized committee for Technical Textiles, Pre-membership in ISO Technical Committee, Digitization of standardization activity, Action-Research based approach, Free of Cost Indigenous Standards information and MoUs with eminent institutes have been the focused initiatives undertaken by BIS towards building technical textiles standards in India, he further added.
Shri Rajinder Gupta, Chair, FICCI Textiles Committee & Chairman, Trident Ltd said that Technology is changing rapidly and technical textiles with their wide applications can play a crucial role in country’s transformation in next twenty-five years.