GNDU to train students in field of technical textiles

Amritsar, March 30

GNDU Department of Apparel and Textile Technology Head Prof Sukhprit Singh said the Ministry of Textiles had announced a National Technical Textiles Mission, with a total budget of Rs 1,480 crore, in order to position the country as a global leader in technical textiles. Technical textiles are textile materials and products manufactured primarily for technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic characteristics.

The university will train students in the area of technical textiles under the programme of MSc (Apparel & Textiles) from this academic session.

Prof Sukhprit on Wednesday addressed the faculty members and researchers in the Department of Chemistry and expressed his concern over increasing demands in the emerging fields of technical textiles in India. He said Guru Nanak Dev University is committed for the wellbeing of the state youth and to cater to the demands of the sector, the university had established the Department of Apparel and Textile Technology at its main university campus.

He said technical textile products were divided into 12 broad categories — agrotech, buildtech, clothtech, geotech, hometech, indutech, mobiltech, meditech, protech, sportstech, oekotech and packtech — depending upon their application areas.

“Technical textiles are a futuristic and attractive segment of textiles that are used for a variety of applications ranging from agriculture (to improve crop yield and quality), roads (to increase the life of road), sportswear (to improve the comfort of sportspersons), and health (development of sutures, compression bandage, wound care bandages, protective gears against various microbes, etc.) on one end of the spectrum to bullet proof jackets (lifesaving and comfortable for armed persons) on the other,” he said.

Dr Sachin Kumar, Assistant Professor of the Department, said India accounts for almost six per cent of the world’s $250 billion market. However, the segment’s yearly average growth is 12 per cent, compared to the global average of four per cent. “At five to 10 per cent as compared to 30-70 per cent in advanced countries, technical textiles’ penetration is low in India. The significance of technical textiles came to the forefront, with India emerging as the second largest manufacturer of masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits within three months of the onset of Covid. This emphasised the need to integrate education, research and practical experience in various aspects of textile manufacturing and design,” he said.

Used for variety of applications

GNDU Department of Apparel and Textile Technology Head Prof Sukhprit Singh said technical textiles are a futuristic and attractive segment of textiles that are used for a variety of applications ranging from agriculture (to improve crop yield and quality), roads (to increase the life of road), sportswear (to improve the comfort of sportspersons) etc.