A farm to demonstrate the use of agro textiles, especially nets, has been set up at Navsari, Gujarat, at ₹4 crore, and another is coming up at Pusa, Bihar, under the National Technical Textiles Mission, said Mission Director Ashok Kumar Malhotra.
Mr. Malhotra, who was in Coimbatore on Thursday (December 11, 2025), told The Hindu that among the 12 major segments of technical textiles, agro, geo, and industrial textile production have picked up in India. In agro textiles, the use of value-added nets, which are made in India, is becoming popular. If an agricultural university in south India comes forward, a demonstration farm can be set up in the south too, he said.
The Mission has signed MoUs with 45 educational institutes to teach technical textiles to students in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including courses on geo textiles for civil engineering students. So far, 130 of the 240 students are placed in technical textile industries. The textile research associations and skill development councils also offer short-term training in technical textiles and have, so far, trained 1,400 candidates.
For research and development and innovation, the Mission gives ₹50-lakh grant to startups that are linked to incubation centres. So far, 24 startups are in different stages of product development. Funds are also available for the development of machinery for technical textiles. The Mission gives 50% of the project cost and so far, three machines are developed indigenously, he said.
Of the ₹1,480 crore allocated for the Mission that was launched in 2019-2020, ₹720 crore is used, he added. Of the total funds, ₹1,000 crore is earmarked for research and development, and ₹520 crore has been used. Of the ₹400 crore earmarked for education, ₹210 crore has been spent, he added.
Published – December 13, 2025 01:09 pm IST
