Business

2nd Defence-ITTA Joint Exhibition Talks Of Techtex Needs Of Defence Forces

The second edition of the Defence-ITTA joint Exhibition cum Seminar on Technical Textile, in June, in Delhi, was attended by more than 250 delegates from both the Indian Army and the technical textiles and footwear Industry.

The exhibition showcased a range of technical textiles and footwear products developed by various manufacturers that can meet the strenuous needs of the Indian Army. Some of the prominent exhibitors are - Shiva Texyarn, Raymond, Garware, Kusumgar, Euro Safety, Ardmel Group-UK, NTC, NITRA, CTM, Strata Geosystem, Prosafe, RSWM, Renfro India, Ferreterro, etc. In addition, Indian Army, DRDO, BRO, OEF, OPF and other departments displayed their entire range of products currently used by them.

Second edition has widened scope to include Buildtech, Meditech, etc

The two day seminar cum exhibition was inaugurated by Lt Gen Ravi Thodge, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, Master General of Ordinance. The initiation of the first event in Feb 2015 was his brainchild along with the ITTA, which resulted in more transparency, and the entry of new vendors with latest technology into the defence supply system. He expressed his happiness on the achievements of the earlier interaction and wanted the scope to be widened with inclusion of Buildtech, Collective Protection, Meditech and footwear this year. The Guest of Honour, Anu Garg, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textile, said, "Technical Textiles is a priority for the government. At present, India represents only 3% of the global technical textiles industry, less than 5% of the global technical textiles production, 4% of exports of technical textiles world over, imports US$1.4 billion worth of technical textiles, our per capita consumption of technical textiles is 1.7 kg viz-a-viz 10-12 kg in developed countries and technical textiles comprise only 11% of Indian textile industry as compared to 27% globally and 50% in some developed countries. Having said that, one can see possibilities for Make in India, for import substitution, for export promotion & for increased consumption."

The government has identified technical textiles as one of the four priority segments, and 15% capital subsidy is being provided to this sector, there are ongoing schemes for promoting agro textiles and geotextiles in the North East, recently duty rationalisation for select specialty fibres was announced.

Dr. S. K. Sundararaman, Vice Chairman, ITTA, said that ITTA being a group of more than 300 technical textile companies has the capability to provide the required solutions to the defence sector, and the seminar cum exhibition provided the necessary platform for a successful partnership between the defence forces and the technical textile industry.

Sessions

Army requirements of clothing and footwear

1. Budget Outlay: Col JS Sidhu, Director Budget Cell informed that the budget in FY 2016-17 for GS&C is Rs 2857 crore out of which the DGOF got Rs 2100 crore and EX-Trade got Rs 757 crore. But a large proportion of the textiles and accessories are purchased by DGOF from the industry.

2. Defence procurement procedure: Brig GS Shan, Deputy Director General OS (GS&C) talked about the type of procurement, procurement set-up, sources of supply, DGQA, revenue procurement and payment terms for sellers.

3. Special Clothing & Mountain Equipment and Extreme Cold Climate Clothing Items: Col AS Chonker, VSM highlighted that the requirement of special clothing and mountaineering equipments will increase to 38,229 sets for the Indian army. He spoke on the procurement procedure for SCME EX Import and also added the need for product improvements, and introduction of new products i.e. Avalanche airbag, Tugger shoes, etc.

4. Outsourcing of Products, Product Improvements, Purchase of Raw Material, Entry into Ordinance factories and Expectations from Industry: Prakash Agrawal, Jt GM, OFB discussed the OFB and its operations.

5. Latest Trends in Footwear applicable for Defence Forces: Jeetesh Gidwani, GM, Euro Safety Footwear spoke on the global trends in footwear construction and explained about the safety shoes used in terrains with different technology, uniform and formal shoes and all weather shoes.

Collective Protection, Tentage, Load Carrying Fabrics & Induction Of Products Into CSD"

The third session was chaired by Brig SC Tandi, Commandant C O D, Kanpur and four papers were presented.

1. Requirements of Collective Protection & Load Carrying Fabrics: Col Sanjay Sinha, Director OS (GS&C) highlighted inventory management, types of stores which maintain an inventory of 4.5 lakh items. He also spoke of Life Cycle clothing (LCC), trade items and product improvement.

2. Recommendation for Collective Protection & Load Carrying Fabrics: S. J. Rao, Sr. VP, Garware Wall Ropes defined collective protection, types of fabrics, its properties and criteria for selection, types of material used and its different applications for Indian Army.

3. Improved Synthetic Camouflage Nets:. Naresh Ummat, Barracuda Camouflage (P) Ltd spoke on the improvements in products like synthetic camouflage nets, synthetic camouflage nets with IR protection and C-90 net-reinforced static camouflage used by Indian Army.

4. Assistance from Industry to ensure Quality and Quick Clearances: Arunabh Chawdhury, Jt. Controller, DGQA explained that quality assurance for defence textiles involves `Womb to Tomb' responsibility. He also spoke on technological advancements, indigenisation of specialty products, industry assistance and DGQA services.

5. Procedure for inducting Products into the CSD: CSD Adelphi highlighted the process of introduction, eligibility for registration as vendor, documents required and quality control in CSD.

Medical Textiles And Protective Clothing

The fourth session was chaired by Brig Subodh Mulgund, Dy DGAFMS (Standardisation) and five papers were presented.

1. Medical Textile: Lt Col Rishi Raj, Jt. Director, Armed Forces Medical Services Directorate highlighted about the First Tri Service Organisation of the Armed Forces i.e. Armed Forces Medical Services. He talked about future requirements in medical textiles, smart textiles and its market which was pegged at US$ 289.5 million in 2012 and expected to exceed US$ 1,500 million by 2020.

2. Recommended Medical Textiles for Defence Forces: Alan D'Abreo, KOB Medical explained about the different medical textiles products which can be used for defence such as compression bandage for trauma, absorbent wound dressing pads, Foam dressings, Hydrogel dressings, Silver dressings, etc & its benefit.

3. Protective Textiles: Dr.. Arindam Basu, Director General, NITRA briefed about the need for protective textiles, detailed description about the extreme cold weather clothing, electrically heated garments, flame retardant garments, Interactive Camouflage, sensor and energy-storage fabrics, smart uniforms and ballistic protection used for defence.

4. Latest on Protective Clothing: Dr. T. H. Goswami, DMSRDE (DRDO), Kanpur talked about the products developed by DMSRDE i.e. NBC protective textile items, tent glacier (10-12 men), synthetic camouflage nets, functional shelters/ tents for army, synthetic life jacket, blast protection suit, etc.

5. Formation of Condensation in Breathable Performance Clothing System and Latest Concepts: Arlene Kidd, Group Director, Ardmel Group, UK explained about the breathability concept and spoke on the future of smart clothing in the defence like printed textiles, development of nanotechnology, printed batteries, combatants, etc.

6. Initiatives and Latest Trends in Fire Protective Clothing: Mahipal Meena CFEES, Delhi highlighted the importance of CFEES (Centre for Fire, Explosive & Environment Safety) (DIFR). He talked about the textile products developed by CFEES such as reflective aluminised suits, non-reflective fire protective suits, etc. and added the highlights of current ongoing projects at CFEES and latest trends in protective clothing.