Parliament Question: Allocation of Funds for Startups

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3745 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.08.2026 ALLOCATION OF FUNDS FOR STARTUPS 3745. SMT. D K ARUNA: Will the Minister of TEXTILES वस्त्र मंत्री be pleased to state : (a) the details and total amount allocated by the Government as grants to startups in technical textiles in the current fiscal year and the criteria used for selecting these startups in Telangana State; (b) the anticipated economic impact of these grants on the technical textiles sector, supported by projected growth figures and employment generation estimates; (c) the number of startups that have received grants under this initiative so far along with the details of amount received by each startup and the specific technological innovations they aim to develop in Telangana State; and (d) the Government’s strategy to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these grants in fostering innovation and sustainability in the technical textiles industry including key performance indicators tracked annually? उत्तर ANSWER वस्त्र राज् य मंत्री (श्री पबित्र मार्घरे रटा) THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TEXTILES (SHRI PABITRA MARGHERITA) (a): Under the Ministry of Textile's National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM), the scheme of "Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT)" aims to support the start-up ecosystem in the technical textiles sector across the country, including Telangana, by providing assistance to young innovators, scientists, technologists, and start-up ventures in translating their ideas into commercial technologies and products. The total budget allocated to the NTTM for the current financial year (2026-27) is Rs. 256 crore, which includes the provision for releasing grants to start-ups under the GREAT scheme. Under NTTM, 15 research projects and 01 application from an educational institution under the "General Guidelines for Enabling of Academic Institutes in Technical Textiles Education in India: For Private and Public Institutes" have been approved from the State of Telangana. An Evaluation and Monitoring Committee (EMC) has been constituted under NTTM to evaluate, monitor, and review the technical and financial parameters of the start-up proposals. Based on the criteria laid out in the GREAT guidelines, the EMC submits its recommendations to theEmpowered Programme Committee (EPC) under NTTM for approval of start-up proposals. GREAT guidelines are available at https://nttm.texmin.gov.in. (b): The grants provided to start-ups under NTTM are aimed at promoting innovation, commercialization of indigenous technologies, and the development of value-added technical textile products. The anticipated economic impact of these grants is fundamentally driven by robust collaborations between the supported start-ups and established industry partners. By fostering strong synergies between innovators and industry stakeholders for prototype development, field trials, and market launches, the scheme ensures market-ready commercialization. This active industry engagement is anticipated to successfully scale these start-ups, significantly strengthen the overall technical textiles ecosystem in the country, and thereby catalyze broader sustainable industry growth and employment generation. (c): Under NTTM, a total of 31 start-ups have been approved at a total cost of Rs 15.40 crore, of which Rs 13.65 crore is the Government of India share, details of which are given at Annexure-I. (d): Under NTTM, a Review and Monitoring Committee has been constituted to assess and oversee the progress of the approved start-ups, with the authority to recommend for release of subsequent instalments of grant and closure of projects to the Empowered Programme Committee. Further, various public events, workshops, seminars and outreach activities are being organized nationwide to disseminate information about the scheme and facilitate industry engagement for scaling up the potential start-up projects. Annexure-I Details of Start-up projects under GREAT scheme of NTTM Title of start-up project Approved S. cost of No. Project 1 Warming and Cooling High Performance Textiles 55,00,000 2 Surgical simulation models based on textile materials for training of doctors 50,00,000 Development and commercialization of Industrial hemp pultrusion cord & 3 66,16,500 composites Smart Fabrics of Tomorrow: Nanofibers-Infused Textiles for Energy 4 50,00,000 Generation and Sensing 5 High-performance tyre-yarns : green product by green process 50,00,000 6 Radome Integrated IFF Antenna 50,00,000 Development of Braided composites for use in Defense and Automobile 7 49,86,875 application 8 Sustainable Processing of Technical Textiles with Emerging Technologies 50,00,000 9 Manufacturing of Nanomaterial based Smart Textiles 50,00,000Development of Node Locked Three Dimensional (3D) material based 10 50,00,000 advanced composite 11 Algae-Based coated textile as an alternative to leather/synthetic materials. 56,00,000 Production & Scaleup of UniClenz- A zero waste, next generation, SMART, 12 46,80,000 Self-Sanitizing Personal Protective Medical Apparel 13 Natural Anti Microbial Coated Textiles for Hospitals Wears 49,76,000 14 Bioengineered Textiles & Materials Manufacturing 50,00,000 Novel E-Textiles Woven with Shape Memory Materials to Design Intelligent 15 50,00,000 Wearables for Healthcare and Wellness Applications Development of shrink-resistant, detergent washable, camouflage dyed, far infra-red wool clothing for protection in extreme cold conditions through 16 50,00,000 plasma technology with enhanced mechanical, comfort and thermal properties 17 Novel composite material based space deployable communication antenna 56,50,000 Design and Development of pilot scale innovative zero solid discharge 18 (ZSD) system for resource recovery from final residue in textile and 47,82,250 industrial ZLD plants (Circularity and Sustainability) Smart Textile Wearable: Enhancing Mental Wellbeing Through Innovative 19 50,00,000 Stress Management Flushable Sanitary Pads as a Sustainable and Innovative Solution for 20 56,00,000 Menstrual Hygeine Development of anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant and UV-protective pineapple 21 fabric as a sustainable and multi-functional protective clothing with 50,00,000 enhanced mechanical and comfort properties. Revolutionizing High-Performance Sustainable fibers with the Spider Silk 22 50,00,000 Technology 23 Development of advanced medical textile products based on biomaterials 32,50,000 High-performance Sports gears for high-altitude Adventure sport & defense 24 50,00,000 applications 25 Smart Textiles for Winter Thermal Comfort 50,00,000 Development of Cosmeto textiles/ Wellness textiles utilizing Indian 26 50,00,000 unconventional natural fibres and eco-friendly finishes Smart Vest with Continuous Heart Rhythm Monitoring for Arrhythmia 27 50,00,000 Detection Development of Lightweight, Thermal, and Radiation Shielding Composite 28 23,98,000 Tiles Using Technical Textiles for Space Applications 29 Textile waste composite panels for Building applications 50,00,000 Indigenous production of fine-count hemp yarn and it's blends for the 30 development of inherently antimicrobial Wound Dressing Material and 50,00,000 Coveralls. 31 Neosense: Comfyhug Vital Monitoring 50,00,000 ******