The Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA) successfully concluded its 15 th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 19 th September 2025 at the Orchid Hotel, Mumbai. The meeting was conducted under the Chairmanship of Mr. Avinash Misar, with a large presence of ITTA members, special invitees, and press media representatives. Dr. Anup Rakshit, Executive Director of ITTA, warmly welcomed the distinguished guests, members, and press representatives to the event. Mahesh Kudav, Vice Chairman conducted the Business Session. The AGM was honoured by the presence of Kartikay Dhanda, Secretary, Textile Committee, as the Chief Guest and Dr. T. V. Sreekumar, Director, The Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) as a Guest of Honour.
Kartikay Dhanda addressed the ITTA members, highlighting the critical role that ITTA has played over the years as a dedicated association in uplifting the technical textile sector and serving as a vital link between the industry and the government. He acknowledged ITTA’s significant contributions in driving innovation, sustainability, and growth within India’s textile industry and appreciated the Ministry of Textiles, through NTTM and PLI schemes, for working towards the sector’s development by implementing such initiatives. He further emphasized the vast growth potential of technical textiles and commended ITTA for fostering industry interactions. Addressing the delegates, he also underlined the need to reduce bottlenecks, enhance facilitation processes to make exports more competitive, and seize opportunities for joint ventures and innovations to bridge technological gaps in the sector.
Dr. T. V. Sreekumar expressed his gratitude to ITTA for the invitation and acknowledged BTRA’s close association with the technical textiles sector. He highlighted the strong collaboration between ITTA and BTRA, noting that ITTA’s presence on the BTRA campus has fostered knowledge exchange, research collaborations, and industry outreach, benefiting stakeholders. He shared that BTRA is engaged in major projects such as Carbon Fibre precursors and emphasized the importance of innovation, capacity building, and continuous awareness to strengthen India’s global competitiveness. Appreciating ITTA’s efforts in conducting seminars, workshops, and training programs, he reaffirmed BTRA’s commitment to supporting ITTA and the industry through research, testing, training, and technology development, and encouraged members to actively participate in ITTA’s initiatives.
Avinash Misar, Chairman, ITTA, thanked Kartikay Dhanda, Secretary, Textiles Committee; Dr. T.V. Sreekumar, Director, BTRA; and other dignitaries for their gracious presence. He highlighted ITTA’s steady growth over the past 15 years, noting that the industry has achieved a 12% CAGR since 2021, with turnover reaching USD 27 billion and exports rising to USD 2.4 billion in 2024–25. With projections of USD 45 billion by 2030, he expressed confidence in the sector’s strong future while acknowledging challenges such as raw material imports, GST anomalies, QCO issues, and the need for greater MSME support under schemes like PLI. He appreciated the Ministry of Textiles’ initiatives – NTTM, PM MITRA, and sustainability programs which have positioned technical textiles at the forefront. He also underlined ITTA’s role in developing BIS standards, representing industry on key committees, promoting training and skill development, evaluating NTTM projects, and driving awareness across India. With over 400 members, ITTA remains committed to supporting the sector in close collaboration with the government to overcome challenges and achieve sustained growth.
Dr. Anup Rakshit highlighted that since last year, ITTA has introduced the Innovation Awards to recognize members who are doing outstanding work in developing innovative products and machinery. This year, the jury selected 4 awardees from 6 applications, whose names will be announced during the ceremony. He further shared that ITTA’s Executive Development Programs and Train-the-Trainer programs on key segments of technical textiles have gained popularity, with over 400 participants from industry, academia, and management benefiting so far. Dr. Rakshit also announced the launch of ITTA’s new quarterly magazine, Technical Textile Today, published with the support of TVC Media. He noted these as some of ITTA’s recent noteworthy initiatives.
The AGM concluded with the formation of the new Board wherein Mahesh Kudav, Managing Director, Venus Safety & Health Pvt. Ltd., formally took over as the Chairman of ITTA and Dr. Nandan Kumar, Managing Director, High Performance Textiles Pvt. Ltd. was unanimously elected as the Vice Chairman of ITTA.
Avinash Misar continues to be the ex-member of the Board and will be a guiding force of the association along with Amit Agarwal (Ex- Officio Member). A notable moment during the meeting was the presentation of the “Lifetime Achievement Award” to Pankaj Kapoor, Managing Director of Park Non-Woven Pvt. Ltd., for his outstanding contributions to the technical textile industry and his lasting impact on the field. Kapoor was inducted into the ‘ITTA Hall of Fame’, in addition to Pramod Khosla of Mahesh Kudav, Chairman, ITTA Dr. Nandan Kumar, Vice Chairman, ITTA Khosla Profil, Yogesh Kusumgar of Kusumgar Corporates and Mohan Kavrie of Supreme Nonwovens.
The Innovation Awards on outstanding contributions and advancements in the Technical Textile industry, introduced by ITTA, were presented to the following Five companies – Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) – Dr. M. S. Parmar, Director General on the “Development of Fire Entry Suit”. Prashant West Point Machinery Pvt. Ltd. – Apurva Kapadia and Ms. Amoli Shah, Director on the “Intelligent Direct Warper for Fibre Glass Yarn”. Tarasafe International Pvt. Ltd. + High Performance Textiles Pvt. Ltd. – Anaveer B. Telasang, Vice President & Business Head – Marketing and Merchandising & Mahendra Kushwaha, Manager-New Product Development, Tarasafe and Dr. Nandan Kumar, Managing Director, HPT on the two innovations i.e., “Light Weight & Breathable Multi-Functional Protective Wear Sleeve, Apron, Bib-Trouser and Chap-Trouser and TaraHeal – Reduce: Reuse: Recycle! Now in FR!”. Pankaj Kapoor was honoured with The Lifetime Achievement Award, Garware Technical Fibres Ltd. – Yogesh Padule, Assistant Manager – R&D on the “Bio Aqua Rock Bag – An Eco-Friendly Solution for Erosion Control”.
The AGM also featured a Knowledge Sharing Session aimed at providing valuable insights and industry expertise with insightful presentation on “Recent Advances in Carbon Fibre Precursor development under NTTM” by Dr. T. V. Sreekumar, Director, BTRA. Anil Kumar Vasupillai, Additional Executive Director, ITTA, extended a heartfelt vote of thanks to all members, guests, participants, and dignitaries for their presence and for making the ITTA AGM a success. He reaffirmed ITTA’s commitment to being the voice of the Indian technical textile industry and to working closely with the government on policy initiatives. He further emphasized that ITTA remains dedicated to facilitating the needs and aspirations of its members and supporting them in achieving higher growth and business development.
