Technical textiles key to Telangana’s textile growth

Compared to demand the supply of textile is more. Manufacturers are finding it hard to dispose their goods. They should think of such avenues which lead to export and adds to India’s economy - Ammanabolu Prakash, president, Telangana State Federation of Textile Association

Hyderabad: To compete in the international market, MSMEs in Telangana should focus on technical textile, as it holds potential to place India on the export map in the lines of China, says State textile body.

Generally, the industry has been dominated by garment makers. For example, over 10 shops lined up in a stretch sell the usual women and men clothing. However, technical textile has not been explored in India to its fullest potential. Application of technical textile consists of 12 categories such as agrotech, buildtech, medtech, mobiltech, and protech among others.

Speaking to Bizz Buzz, Ammanabolu Prakash, president, Telangana State Federation of Textile Association highlighted the need for diversification and scope for technical textile manufacturing in India. He said, “Compared to demand the supply of textile is more. Manufacturers are finding it hard to dispose their goods. They should think of such avenues which lead to export and adds to India’s economy. Government should consider encouraging technical textile manufacturers making them able to compete in exports with other leading countries.”

In 2023 the Ministry of Textiles had announced a grant-in-aid of Rs 50 lakh for startups to promote innovation in niche segments of technical textile. Prakash suggested, “The Central government is very proactive in uplifting this segment as few government schemes are in place. But for export oriented units to compete in the international market, subsidies on power consumption, initial tax holidays, and bank loans at lower interest rates, should be reinforced actively to support manufacturers in exporting products at competitive price.”

Prakash also questioned the status of the much awaited Textile Park in Telangana. According to him the last ruling BRS government and the Centre had proposed to take up the project. He added, “As per my knowledge only the Foundation stone has been laid. There is no clarity on its current status. However it should not be developed into run-of-the-mill industrial park. The government should also work on increasing skilled labours as the count is depleting due to lack of opportunities.” To address the issue of middle men eating up margins, Centre has introduced an online portal as repository of Indian textiles. Prakash suggests scaling up these online platforms based on international standards for seamless internal trade and exports. He also called for government’s intervention in controlling the cost, from fibre to fabric stage, for bringing down overall price of the product.

(Congress party came to power in Telangana with A Revanth Reddy as its Chief Minister. Achieving faster industrial growth is essential for the new government to generate jobs and implement its high-value welfare schemes. In this backdrop, Bizz Buzz business daily has taken up a campaign to publish suggestions from industrialists, businessmen, industry associations, experts and others to help Telangana attract more investments. If you have any suggestions, mail them to [email protected]. We will publish innovative suggestions that add value to Telangana’s industrial ecosystem - Editor)