India’s Ministry of Textiles and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) are jointly organising a workshop on ‘Strengthening-Government-Industry-Consumer Partnership in Protective Textiles’ here in Mumbai tomorrow. Senior Officers from Central and State Governments will address the delegates and over 100 delegates from various sectors like defence, police, security, regulators, state government, hotels, multiplexes and industry will be in attendance.

Protective textiles are a growing industry in India, which is expected to grow at the rate of 9-10% per annum in next 5 years. The domestic market for such textiles is expected to increase from Rs.1,259 crore in 2007-08 to over Rs. 2,000 crore by 2012-13. Protective textiles include garments and related materials used for protection from harmful chemical environment, extreme temperatures (both high & low) and ballistic protection. Fire retardant suits, jackets, bullet-proof jackets and high visibility suits are some of the examples of protective textiles.

The objective of the workshop is to bring together consumers, suppliers and regulators in the area of public safety in order that they can understand each other’s requirements and concerns. The use of protective textiles is said to be very limited and well below the potential in India, primarily because of lack of awareness amongst various consumer segments like multiplexes, hotels, and the steel and oil industries.  

Also, unlike the case in developed countries, in India the relevant standards are not mandatory for textiles used in public places or buildings and as a result these retardant textiles are still widely, thereby exposing the public to high risks. Despite rules and regulations in India, the usage of protective textiles, especially fire retardant textiles, is far from adequate. Hence, there is an urgent need to promote this industry and encourage the use of these items. The Workshop will also focus on various rules and legislation that need to be amended to facilitate the use of these textiles in various places.

Smt. Rita Menon, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Shri Ajoy Acharya, Additional Secretary, Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, Shri R.S. Sharma, Director, Delhi Fire Services and Shri Shishir Jaipurai, Chairman, FICCI Taskforce on Technical Textiles will address the Workshop.