State govt identifies 4 key areas to improve textile industry

CHENNAI: To improve the textile industry, the State government has identified 4 key areas including to focus on introducing artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing and usage of latest technology for processing waste into usable by-products. The other important areas include sustainability and machinery manufacturing of textiles.

A senior official said that as the State government was planning to ensure the transformation of TN into a global textile hub, a few areas that has opportunities for improvement were identified.

“The budget allocated for this is Rs 11.29 crore,” he said. “Due to a global demand for sustainable textile manufacturing, the focus will be on building capacities in areas like fibre recycling from used-PET bottles, yarn manufacturing from textile waste and used-garments, reduced consumption of resources in both production and supply chain in the upcoming years.”

He opined that the processing industries faced challenges in managing waste, including mixed waste salt accumulated in common effluent treatment plants. “There is scope for harnessing ‘wealth from waste’. Viable tech for processing waste salt into usable by-products like industrial utility chemicals has to be identified and implemented,” he pointed out.

The official said digitalisation and the use of machine learning and AI in manufacturing will be necessary to maintain quality and achieve excellence in the global market. “There is scope for vertical integration into the manufacturing of equipment, machinery and accessories, which will enable greater value addition and sustainable economic development. The State’s existing industrial base has the potential to adapt and innovate in textile machinery manufacturing,” he stated.

“The State government has constituted a high-level committee and working groups to implement UNDP’s goals on sustainable development here,” he averred.