India can become the global hub for the manufacture of technical textiles and non-wovens, for which there is a huge national and international market. The domestic market under categories of medical textiles, automotive textiles, geo textiles, personal hygiene products, is estimated to be $12 billion by 2012. Seshadri Ramkumar, assistant professor, Texas Technical University, co-chairman of the Association of Nonwoven Textile Industry?s (INDA) India committee, told FE the ground is set for large-scale investments in technical textiles in India.
The government has launched a technical mission on technical textiles, customs duty on technical textile machinery is now 5%, 100% foreign direct investment in the automatic route is permitted, and investment and interest subsidy is offered under the Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) scheme.
With an investment of Rs 50 crore, one could start a technical textile manufacturing unit. There is a ready domestic market in the medical, automotive, infrastructure, and personal hygiene sectors, and producers aren?t subject to vagaries of currency fluctuation. There is huge FDI potential and export market, since foreign technology patent holders and investors are wary of China on intellectual property issues and quality.
?Due to a large domestic market, manufacturers won?t be totally subject to currency market changes,? Ramkumar said.India?s plan for promoting medical tourism in a big way would succeed, only if the country could convince foreign customers about the standards of hygiene. ?World class hospital hygiene would be possible only with the help of medical textiles. To be cost-effective they have to be produced locally. Market potential for hospital textiles by 2012 is estimated to be $600 million,? he said.
A modern passenger car needs 25 kg of technical textiles. Galloping of car production from 5 lakh in 2001 to 12.38 lakh in 2006, the potential for doubling production capacity in a much shorter period offers a ready market for automotive textiles. Market potential is more than $1 billion by 2012. Another $1 billion market is waiting to be tapped in the infrastructure sector for geotextiles. The present per capita consumption of non-wovens used for personal hygiene products is only 0.1 kg in India, against 0.7 kg in China, and 3.7 kg in the US, Ramkumar said. The increase in disposable incomes and the organised retail explosion is creating a huge market for these products. The market potential is estimated to be $ 400 million.