Why in news
- The Ministry of Textiles held the 2nd Coordination Committee Meeting of Textile Research Associations (TRAs) to review technological readiness and digital inventories.
What are Textile Research Associations?
- Autonomous industry-led research bodies supported by the Ministry of Textiles dedicated to applied R&D, testing, and technology transfer in textiles.
- Includes key bodies like ATIRA, SITRA, NITRA, and BTRA serving regional and sector-specific textile manufacturing hubs.
Key Initiatives and i-TRAMS Portal
- i-TRAMS Portal: Digital inventory system mapping high-end research equipment, facilities, and digital information across all TRAs to enable shared access.
- Technology Readiness Assessment Framework: Adoption of standardized technology readiness levels (TRL) to benchmark R&D outcomes before commercialization.
- Identification of Centres of Excellence (CoE) focused on New Age Fibres and technical textiles to strengthen industry-academic linkages.
Why it matters
- Prevents duplication of capital-intensive laboratory equipment across autonomous research institutes.
- Accelerates domestic commercialization of technical textiles and high-performance synthetic fibres.
Key terms
i-TRAMS Portal
A portal managing equipment inventory and R&D information across Textile Research Associations.
Technical Textiles
Textile materials and products manufactured primarily for technical and performance properties rather than aesthetic characteristics.
Prelims facts
- i-TRAMS portal is managed by the Ministry of Textiles to integrate R&D assets across Textile Research Associations.
Mains discussion
- Discuss the significance of technical textiles and R&D infrastructure in modernizing India's textile exports.
Source: PIB English
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