NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday approved setting up of a National Technical Textiles Mission with a total outlay of Rs 1,480 crore. The mission will have a four-year implementation period from 2020-21 to 2023-24.“The mission will aim at average growth rate of 15-20% per annum taking the level of domestic market size to $40-50 billion by the year 2024 through market development, market promotion, international technical collaborations, investment promotions and ‘ Make in India ’ initiatives,” an official statement said.Technical textiles are futuristic and niche segment of textiles, which are used for various applications ranging from agriculture, roads, railway tracks, sportswear, healthcare, bullet proof jackets, fire proof jackets, high altitude combat gear and space applications.The use of technical textiles in agriculture, aquaculture, dairy, poultry, Jal Jivan Mission, Swachch Bharat Mission, Ayushman Bharat will bring an overall improvement in cost economy, water and soil conservation, better agricultural productivity and higher income to farmers per acre of land holding in addition to promotion of manufacturing and exports activities in India, the government said.The mission envisages export promotion of technical textiles, enhancing it from the current annual value of approximately Rs 14,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore by 2021-22, and ensuring 10% average growth in exports per year up to 2023-24.In India, the segment is estimated at $16 billion (about Rs 1.14 lakh crore) which is approximately 6% of the $250 billion (about Rs 17.75 lakh crore) global technical textiles market . The penetration level of technical textiles is low in India, varying between 5-10% against the level of 30-70% in developed countries.Talking to reporters, Union textiles minister Smriti Irani said arrangements have been made under the mission for skill development of 50,000 people in the field of technical textiles. “We have mandated use of technical textiles in nine ministries and 92 products and our hope is that with convergence of efforts with the technology group we will see a new future for especially MSME and technologists in the field of technical textiles, thereby making India self sufficient specially in strategic fields like defence and aerospace,” she said.The minister said that the trade deficit in this segment will be nullified in the next one year.According to an official release, the mission will have four components including research, innovation and development with outlay of Rs 1,000 crore; promotion and market development; export promotion; education, training and skill development. It will also promote technical education at higher engineering and technology levels related to technical textiles and its application areas covering engineering, medical, agriculture, aquaculture and dairy segments.