Goyal urges fivefold boost to export of technical textiles

- Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that the annual growth rate of the technical textiles sector in the country should be in the 15%-20% range in the next five years, from the current 8%.

A technical textile is a textile product manufactured for non-aesthetic purposes, where function is the primary criterion. Technical textiles include textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles, geotextiles, agrotextiles, and protective clothing.

He said it is time to target a five times’ increase in export of technical textiles in three years.
The world market for technical textiles is $250 billion and India’s share is $19 billion. The biggest players are the U.S., West European countries, China and Japan.
In January 2019, the government issued 207 HSN Codes for technical textiles and in less than two years, India had become a net exporter of technical textiles.
It also unveiled the National Technical Textiles Mission in February last year. In FY21, India’s major share of technical textile exports was in PPEs, N-95 and surgical masks, and fabric for PPEs and masks.
As many as 92 technical textile items have been made mandatory for use by government organisations covering agriculture, horticulture, highways, railways, water resources, and medical applications.
India has a major presence in packaging textiles, geotechnical textiles, and agricultural textiles.

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System generally referred to as “Harmonized System” or simply “HS” is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization in 1988.
It is a six-digit code that classifies more than 5000 products, arranged in a legal and logical structure. To achieve uniform classification, the HSN is supported by well-defined rules and is accepted worldwide.
HSN code is used by customs authorities, statistical agencies, and other government regulatory bodies, to monitor and control the import and export of commodities.
- India has been using HSN codes since 1986 to classify commodities for Customs and Central Excise.
HSN classification is widely used for taxation purposes by helping to identify the rate of tax applicable to a specific product in a country that is under review. It can also be used in calculations that involve claiming benefits.

It acts as a universal economic language and code for goods and an indispensable tool for international trade.
The system helps in harmonising customs and trade procedures thus reducing costs in international trade.
HSN code removes the need to upload details about the goods which makes filing of GST returns easier in India.

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