At present the potential of technical textiles industry of India remains largely untapped. But with the growing industrialization, increasing access to medical care and huge infrastructure spending is expected to drive growth of technical textile segment which is expected to reach Rs 1.58-lakh crore mark in the ongoing fiscal, grow at a rate of 20 percent, a top Central Government official said today.

Over the last couple of years, India has been growing at a steady pace in the sector with perceptible signs of expansion being observed in a few specialized segments, Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta said this on the sidelines of Techtextil India Symposium 2016 which began here today.

The Centre is giving financial support for growth of the industry. It has already announced 15 percent capital subsidy for investments in technical textiles under the Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme, Gupta said.

The global technical textiles market is expected to reach USD 193.16 billion by 2022. Growth of key end-use industries such as agriculture, construction, packaging and automotive in BRICS nations is expected to remain a key driving factor for global technical textiles market, the IAS officer said.

The Commissioner called for increasing spends on R&D in the sector. The sector spends around 10-11 percent on R&D at present and hopes to double the same in coming years.

Technical textiles refers to products used for their diverse and multifunctional properties. Technical textiles offer several advantages in their functional aspects for improving health and safety, cost effectiveness, and durability and strength of textile material.

The 6th edition of the two-day Techtextil India symposium 2016 has brought the entire cross-section and stake-holders of the industry at a common platform as they look to share their knowledge about the global trends and developments, market potential, opportunities and future prospects.