In order to eliminate poor quality technical textiles the Indian government is working on a plan to bring 107 technical textiles items like surgical gloves, bulletproof clothing, and fire-resistant clothing under Quality Control Order (QCO).
The QCO method is already being applied to imports from China to eliminate substandard product entry into India. This way the Indians hope to reduce the huge trade deficit it runs with China. In fact, 40 percent of India’s total trade deficit comes from trade with China.
An Indian official said that technical textiles are manufactured for specific functions and their quality cannot be compromised. Presently around 107 technical textile products have been earmarked for testing. These items are used in agriculture, medical, geo-tech, and pro-tech fields. In fact, 48 items relating to medicine are already covered by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
The official further stated that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has already developed standards for over 500 technical textile products while work on 40 more is in progress.
The standards would also apply to locally produced technical textiles items. In case the local products improve the government could cut imports. The Ministry of Textiles has approved general guidelines under the Flagship Programme of the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM).
The guidelines will stress creating a world-class knowledge ecosystem to ensure India leads the world in the field of technical textiles in the next 10 years.
