Policy Update
Vatsala Sinha
Introduction
Textiles have long been a vital part of India’s economy and culture. The country is a global leader in traditional textiles like cotton, silk, and garments. However, the rise of technical textiles represents a significant change in the textile industry. This shift focuses on performance, functionality, and materials designed for specific uses, rather than fashion and clothing. Technical textiles are made for particular applications such as infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, mobility, defense, and environmental protection. In these areas, qualities like strength, durability, resistance, filtration, and safety take precedence over appearance(Ministry of Textiles [MoT], 2020).
Recognizing the economic and strategic significance of this change, the Government of India launched the National Technical Textile Mission (NTTM) in 2020, which will run from 2020 to 2026. Under the Ministry of Textiles, the NTTM aims to make India a global center for technical textile manufacturing, innovation, and application (MoT, 2020). It also seeks to reduce reliance on imports and enhance the domestic industry. This mission supports broader national goals like Atmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India, infrastructure development, and industry modernization.
Rationale and Policy Context
Globally, technical textiles make up about 40 to 45% of total textile consumption. This demand comes from sectors like construction, healthcare, mobility, climate-resilient infrastructure, and industrial safety (ITMF, 2021; OECD, 2020). In contrast, India’s share of technical textiles has historically remained below 15%. This is the case even though the country has access to raw materials, a large textile workforce, and a strong base of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This gap shows structural issues such as low investment in research and development, limited adoption of standards, weak collaboration between industry and academia, fragmented manufacturing clusters, and a high dependence on imports for specialized products (MoT, 2020; CITI, 2021).
India imports a large share of high-end technical textile products like medical disposables, geotextiles, protective clothing, and industrial fabrics. This reliance on imports increases the trade deficit and highlights weaknesses in key areas such as healthcare, defense, and disaster management (WTO, 2022). The COVID-19 pandemic clearly exposed these risks, especially through supply chain issues with medical textiles like PPE kits and nonwoven materials. This situation emphasizes the need to strengthen domestic manufacturing (MoHFW, 2020; DPIIT, 2021).
Against this backdrop, the NTTM was conceptualised as a mission-mode intervention integrating research, standardisation, manufacturing, skilling, and market creation. Rather than treating technical textiles as a niche industry, the mission frames them as enabling industrial infrastructure, similar to digital platforms or energy systems that support multiple sectors of the economy (MoT, 2020; OECD, 2020).
Image 1: India’s evolving textile landscape, illustrating industry scale, declining imports, and segment-wise technical textile import dependence (Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2115710®=3&lang=2)
Scope and Classification of Technical Textiles
Technical textiles include a variety of products classified by their end-use. Under NTTM, India uses globally recognized categories, which include:
- Agrotech, which covers crop covers, shade nets, mulch mats, fishing nets, and soil stabilization fabrics.
- Geotech comprises geotextiles used in roads, railways, embankments, tunnels, and erosion control.
- Meditech, which includes medical disposables, implants, sutures, wound care materials, and hygiene products.
- Mobiltech refers to textiles used in automobiles, railways, aviation, and shipping.
- Buildtech involves construction fabrics such as roofing membranes, insulation materials, and architectural textiles.
- Protech, which includes personal protective equipment, fire-retardant clothing, bulletproof materials, and industrial safety gear.
- There are also Indutech, Sportech, Packtech, Hometech, and other segments that meet industrial and consumer needs.
This classification allows for targeted policy actions and helps connect domestic production with specific sector demands.
Image 2: Application spectrum of technical textiles across infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, mobility, and industrial safety. (Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=2115710®=3&lang=2 )
Mission Structure and Components
The National Technical Textile Mission consists of four interconnected components. Each one addresses a key issue in the ecosystem.
Research, Innovation, and Development
The first component aims to strengthen India’s research and development capacity in technical textiles. Centres of Excellence (CoEs) have been set up at top institutions to conduct applied research, develop products, test them, and validate them on a pilot scale. These centres focus on high-performance fibers, advanced polymers, nonwovens, composites, and smart textiles. The goal is to move India from adopting technology to creating it, fostering local solutions for both domestic and global markets.
Promotion and Market Development
This component seeks to boost domestic demand and create reliable markets for technical textile products. The government uses procurement policies and mandatory usage standards, such as requiring geotextiles in road construction. Awareness programs help integrate technical textiles into infrastructure, agriculture, and healthcare projects. The mission also organizes international exhibitions, buyer-seller meetings, and export promotion initiatives to connect Indian manufacturers with global value chains.
Export Promotion and Global Integration
The NTTM acknowledges that long-term competitiveness depends on achieving global scale and meeting international standards. It provides support for obtaining international certifications, branding, trade facilitation, and market research. By aligning Indian standards with global benchmarks, the mission aims to establish India as a trustworthy supplier of high-quality technical textile products.
Education, Training, and Skill Development
Human talent is a key aspect of the mission. NTTM backs the development of curricula, specialized training programs, and capacity building for engineers, technicians, designers, and MSME entrepreneurs. This piece ensures that the skills of the workforce grow alongside technology, fostering continuous sectoral growth.
Image 3: Key initiatives and institutional support mechanisms under the National Technical Textile Mission (Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=2115710®=3&lang=2 )
Performance and Progress (2020-2024)
Since its launch, the NTTM has gained noticeable momentum in various areas. Several Centres of Excellence are now operational, focusing on geotextiles, medical textiles, nonwovens, and protective textiles. Required standards for geotextile use in infrastructure projects have started to turn policy goals into ongoing demand, particularly in public works and highway construction (MoRTH, 2020; BIS, 2019-2022).
Domestic production of medical textiles grew quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing India’s hidden manufacturing ability when backed by coordinated policy actions. MSMEs entered areas like nonwovens, filtration fabrics, and industrial textiles on a large scale, which helped with supply security and job creation (MoHFW, 2020; DPIIT, 2021). Although export volumes are still small compared to global leaders, India’s technical textile exports have steadily increased, indicating better capacity and competitiveness in the international market (EPC for Technical Textiles, 2022).
However, progress is uneven across categories. High-end segments, such as advanced composites, smart textiles, and defence-grade materials, still rely on imports and foreign technology(MoT, 2023).
Image 4: Financial allocation across major components of the National Technical Textile Mission (NTTM)(Source: https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=2115710®=3&lang=2 )
Impact Assessment
The impact of NTTM goes beyond the textile sector and should be understood through its contributions across different fields. From an industrial standpoint, technical textiles improve infrastructure durability, lower lifecycle costs, and increase resilience in roads, railways, and buildings. In agriculture, agrotextiles enhance yield stability, water efficiency, and climate resilience. In healthcare, indigenous medical textiles make services more affordable and ensure supply security. In environmental management, geotextiles and filtration fabrics aid in erosion control, waste management, and pollution reduction. (MoHFW, 2020; OECD, 2020)
Economically, the mission supports value-added manufacturing, higher productivity, and skilled employment generation. Unlike conventional textiles, technical textiles face lower exposure to low-cost competition and offer higher margins, making them strategically important for India’s industrial upgrading and export diversification (CITI, 2021; WTO, 2022).
Emerging Challenges
Despite its strengths, NTTM faces several structural challenges. Awareness and adoption among state agencies and local bodies are limited, which slows down demand creation. MSMEs often struggle with costly machinery, certification expenses, and testing facilities. Industry and academia collaboration, while improving, is still scattered. Additionally, regulatory processes for new materials can take a long time, delaying market entry. There is also a risk that innovation stays concentrated within a few institutions, while regional manufacturing clusters do not fully integrate advanced technologies.
Way Forward
For NTTM to have a significant impact, it needs to shift from a sector-focused mission to a larger industrial strategy. Stronger connections with infrastructure ministries, agricultural programs, defense procurement, and health missions can create consistent demand. Cluster-based approaches that connect MSMEs with Centres of Excellence can make innovation accessible to more people. Blended financing, including credit guarantees and outcome-based incentives, can lower entry hurdles for smaller companies. It is also crucial to include technical textiles in India’s spatial and industrial planning. As India builds highways, smart cities, logistics parks, and infrastructure that can withstand climate change, technical textiles should be regarded as vital materials instead of optional extras (MoT, 2023).
Conclusion
The National Technical Textile Mission marks a significant shift in India’s textile and industrial policy. It moves from traditional, volume-based production to performance-focused manufacturing. By promoting local innovation, boosting manufacturing capabilities, and incorporating technical textiles into national development goals, NTTM can reshape India’s role in global textile value chains. Its success will rely on ongoing coordination among institutions, involvement from the industry, and the capacity to turn research and standards into common use. As India approaches 2047, technical textiles can become an important support for resilient, sustainable, and self-sufficient growth.
References
- Bureau of Indian Standards. (2019–2022). Indian standards for geosynthetics and technical textiles (IS series). Government of India. https://www.bis.gov.in
- Confederation of Indian Textile Industry. (2021). Technical textiles: Opportunities and challenges for Indian MSMEs. CITI. https://www.citiindia.com
- Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. (2021). Manufacturing response during COVID-19: Medical textiles and PPE. Government of India. https://dpiit.gov.in
- Export Promotion Council for Technical Textiles. (2022). India’s technical textile exports: Performance and market trends. Government of India. https://epctt.gov.in
- International Textile Manufacturers Federation. (2021). Technical textiles and nonwovens: Global market overview. ITMF. https://www.itmf.org
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (2020). Technical specifications for PPE and medical textiles. Government of India. https://www.mohfw.gov.in
- Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. (2020). Guidelines for mandatory use of geotextiles in road construction. Government of India. https://morth.nic.in
- Ministry of Textiles. (2020). National Technical Textile Mission: Framework and guidelines (2020–2026). Government of India. https://texmin.nic.in
- Ministry of Textiles. (2023). Annual report 2022–23. Government of India. https://texmin.nic.in
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2020). Industrial upgrading and advanced manufacturing ecosystems. OECD Publishing. https://www.oecd.org
- World Trade Organization. (2022). World textile and apparel trade statistics. WTO. https://www.wto.org
About the Contributor:
Vatsala Sinha is an intern at IMPRI India and, as of November 2025, a final-year student in Urban & Regional Planning at SPA Bhopal. A curious, people-oriented aspiring urban planner who loves exploring, learning, and applying research, design, and GIS-driven analytical thinking to real-life spatial challenges.
Acknowledgement: The author extends his sincere gratitude to the IMPRI team and Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja for her invaluable guidance throughout the process.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
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