India has emerged as one of the leading players in medical textiles, especially during the COVID-19 period: Ms. Darshana Vikram Jardosh

On September 13 in Mumbai, the South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) and the Ministry of Textiles jointly organised ‘Meditex 2023: International Conference on Scope and Opportunities in Medical Textiles under National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM)’.

Participants in the conference included officials and representatives from central ministries, user departments (health and medical) of the central and state governments, institutes, industry leaders, scientific experts, researchers, and professionals in medical textiles.

There were multiple technical sessions at the conference and a book on 15 Years of Research in ‘Medical Textiles: A Crystal Jubilee Publication (2008-2023)’ was also released during the conference.

The Chief Guest, Ms. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Minister of State for Textiles & Railways, Government of India, emphasised the need to focus on innovation, boosting the commercialisation of new products, and improving access to new technical advancements in the field of medical textiles.

She added that high levels of collaboration between research organisations, academia, and industries must be encouraged in order to better utilise advanced technology. She emphasised how India has become the world leader in PPE Kits and masks. She went on to say that in just six months during the COVID-19 era, India went from being a non-maker of COVID Grade Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to becoming the second-largest producer and exporter of PPEs and N-95 Masks in the world.

Further, she emphasised how the government has been consistently providing policy support through a number of initiatives, such as the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM), PM MITRA Parks Scheme, and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Textiles, all of which aim to strengthen India's textile and technical textile ecosystem on a whole.

In order to provide a concrete roadmap for the future of the medical textiles industry in India and realise the PM's vision of Kartavya Kaal, she invited all stakeholders to give their significant inputs.

In addition, Mr. Rajeev Saxena, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India claimed that due to extensive research and development (R&D) and expertise in the field, medical textiles' market share is expanding rapidly in India. He added that the product focus for medical textiles needs to be changed to better serve both the domestic and international markets.

He also emphasised the need for more extensive innovation and research in the field of medical textiles, with an emphasis on cutting-edge technologies and the localisation of expensively imported medical textile products like sanitary napkins, diapers, and various surgical sutures, among others. He stated that the Ministry of Textiles and CDSCO Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) are collaborating on the regulatory aspects of various medical fabrics. He added that the Ministry of Textiles will shortly notify Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for six medical textile items, including, diapers and sanitary pads, among others.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.