Textiles Ministry, FICCI to organise workshop on protective and fire retardant textiles

New Delhi, Sep 15 (ANI): Ministry of Textiles and FICCI are jointly organising a workshop on 'Strengthening-Government-Industry-Consumer Partnership in Protective Textiles' on Tuesday.

Over 100 delegates from various sectors like Defence, Police, Security, Regulators, State Government, Hotels, Multiplexes and industry are attending the workshop.

The protective textiles are a growing industry in India, which is expected to grow at the rate of 9-10 per cent per annum in next fiveyears.

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 and low) and ballistic protection. Fire retardant suits, jackets, bullet-proof jackets, high visibility suits, etc., are some of the examples of protective textiles.

The objective of this workshop is to bring together consumers, suppliers and regulators in the area of public safety and understand each other's requirements and concerns. The use of these protective textiles is very limited and well below the potential in India, primarily because of lack of awareness amongst various consumer segments like Multiplexes, Hotels, Steel and Oil industry.

Also, unlike the case in developed countries, in India the relevant standards are not mandatory for textiles used in public places/buildings, as a result these fire retardant textiles are still not used in a large number in public, thereby exposing the public to a very high risk.

Despite several rules/regulations in India, the usage of protective textiles (especially fire retardant) 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/legislations that need to be amended to facilitate the use of these textiles in various places.

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