The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday approved setting up of a National Technical Textiles Mission with an outlay of Rs 1,480 crore for four year implementation period in line with the announcement made in Budget 2020 presented in February.

Making the announcement following the CCEA meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Textile Minister Smriti Irani said the idea behind the mission is to integrate technology and manufacturing. The Minister said that the step would position the country as a global leader in technical textiles and that the goal was to be self-dependent in this field to nullify the trade deficit in the area which was already declining.

Technical textiles have various applications ranging from agriculture, roads, railway tracks, sportswear, health on one end to bullet proof jacket, fire proof jackets, high altitude combat gear and space applications on the other end of the spectrum.

The Minister said that the first component of the mission will focus on research, innovation and development and have an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore. The focus will be on carbon fibre, aramid fibre, nylon fibre, and composites, according to an official release.

Application-based research will be conducted in CSIR, IIT, Research Design & Standards Organisation of Indian Railways, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Defence Research & Development Organisation, National Aeronautical Laboratory, Indian Road Research Institute and other such reputed laboratories, Irani said.