Textile Minister Giriraj Singh Lauds NITRA’s Progress In Technical Textiles
The 62nd Joint Technological Conference (JTC), an annual event organized by India’s leading textiles research associations—ATIRA, BTRA, SITRA and NITRA—was held on October 24-25, 2024, at NITRA’s Ghaziabad campus. Celebrating its golden jubilee, NITRA hosted this national techno-conference, drawing delegates from the textile and clothing industry to discuss advancements in textile technology based on R&D achievements over the past year.
Union Minister for Textiles Giriraj Singh graced the event as Chief Guest. Also in attendance were senior officials from the textile ministry, including Joint Secretary Rajeev Saxena and Textile Commissioner Roop Rashi, alongside NITRA Chairman Vidit Jain, Deputy Chairman Sandeep Hora and Directors of ATIRA, BTRA, and SITRA. Approximately 200 delegates, including research scientists, industry leaders and personnel from military and paramilitary forces joined the conference.
The two-day event featured the presentation of 26 technical papers by scientists from all eight TRAs, highlighting developments in both conventional and technical textile technology. NITRA’s Director General Dr Arindam Basu underscored the essential role of TRAs as research leaders and implementing agencies for the Ministry of Textiles. He encouraged industry support to enable TRAs to focus on research for the betterment of the Indian textile sector. NITRA’s Chairman presented a comprehensive report on the achievements of the TRAs.
Minister Singh inaugurated the technical paper presentation sessions, a related exhibition, a poster presentation event and several new facilities, including a fibre spinning plant, non-woven plant, melt spinning lab and needle punching lab. During his keynote address, the minister commended the R&D contributions of the TRAs, expressing satisfaction with NITRA’s advancements in protective and automotive textiles. He also recognized 25 NITRA employees for their 25 years of service.
Joint Secretary Saxena urged a greater emphasis on technical textiles, while Textile Commissioner Rashi discussed Ministry support for strengthening TRAs. A panel discussion on the second day explored the impact of technical textiles in domestic and international markets, concluding with a formal vote of thanks by NITRA’s Director Dr M. S. Parmar.
