Textile Commissioner, Kavitha Gupta, today asked textile research associations across the country to utilise the allocated funds under Technology Mission for Technical Textiles (TMTT).

In her address at the 56th Joint Technological Conference of four major textile research associations – BTRA, SITRA, ATIRA and NITRA – Dr. Gupta said that the fund utilisation on an average was 76.51 per cent, with Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) utilising only 33.44 per cent.

Stating that there were no constraints for funds to support the sector, she pointed out that out of the Rs. 9 crore released of the total allocated fund of Rs.13.5 crore, BTRA, Centre of Excellence for Geotech, had utilised only Rs.3.01 crore, with an unused surplus of Rs.5.99 crore.

While South India Textile Research (SITRA) had utilised Rs.9.72 crore of the released fund of Rs.11.43 crore, Ahmedabad Textile Industry Research Association (ATIRA) had not spent Rs.2.46 crore of the released amount of Rs.22.99 crore, she said.

Describing technical textiles as the future of the entire textile industry, she said the projected market size to increase from Rs.75,925 crore in 2012-13 to Rs.1,58,540 crore in 2016-17, with a growth rate of 20 per cent year on year basis.

The Centre wanted the segment, which was contributing hardly 0.5 per cent of the entire textile chain revenue, to contribute at least 40 per cent in the coming years.

Without any technological support, India had contributed 45 per cent to the global textile trade centuries ago, but now it contributed only 5.8 per cent, she said.

In his appeal to the Commissioner, South India Mills’ Association (SIMA) Chairman, M. Senthilkumar said that from 2003, the Government had downsized the fund allocation to these associations drastically and had advised them to become self supporting.

Most of the old textile mills, which were pillars of SITRA, closed down and most of the new textile units established in the post-liberalised era hardly extended any support to the Association, he said, adding that they availed all the benefits indirectly.

Stating that all the research associations had become financially weak and unable to attract and retain talents, Senthilkumar claimed that the proposed 7th Pay Commission pay scales might only worsen the situation.