Govt may bring 151 technical textile items under quality control order

The government is considering the inclusion of 151 technical textile items under the Quality Control Order, a move expected to curb substandard imports, an official said on Friday.

The move assumes significance as India has heavy import dependence on machinery and specialty fibre for technical textiles.

To deliberate upon the issue, stakeholder consultations will be held on February 28, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Textiles Rajeev Saxena said, adding that "151 items now we are considering to bring under quality control order".

However, he did not specify these identified items.

Technical Textiles can be described as textile materials and products used primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than their aesthetics or decorative characteristics.

They can be classified into industrial, functional, performance, engineering, invisible and hi-tech categories.

Of USD 260 billion market size globally, India's technical textiles contribution was USD 20.5 billion in 2020.

Domestic exports from the technical textiles segment stood at USD 2.8 billion in 2021 as compared to USD 126 billion worldwide.