Ahmedabad, 16 February 2026: The 63rd Joint Technical Conference (JTC), jointly organized by ATIRA, BTRA, SITRA and NITRA with the support of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, was inaugurated today in Ahmedabad. The conference is being hosted by Ahmedabad Textile Industry’s Research Association (ATIRA).
Shri Punit Lalbhai, Vice Chairman of Arvind Limited and Member of ATIRA’s Governing Council, highlighted that technical textiles represent a global opportunity of nearly $300 billion. He emphasized the importance of strategic autonomy in material availability and credited the Government of India for creating an enabling ecosystem for sectoral growth.
Professor Pankaj Chandra, Chancellor of Ahmedabad University, called for deeper academia–industry integration to ensure that R&D moves beyond publications and patents toward commercially viable innovation, outlining practical pathways for collaboration and impact.
Padma Shri Professor Anil Kumar Gupta, founder of Honey Bee Network, underscored that innovation must create both economic value and societal benefit. Sharing inspiring stories of frugal grassroots innovations, he encouraged researchers to pursue inclusive development that reaches the underserved.
Scientists from across the country, along with industry leaders and academicians, are participating in the two-day conference, presenting research in traditional and technical textiles with a strong focus on accelerating research translation to achieve economic and societal impact.
Welcoming the gathering, Mr. Pragnesh Shah, Director of ATIRA, emphasized that textiles are a strategic sector in India’s growth journey and that sustained competitiveness will depend on strong research capability and effective translation of innovation into industry outcomes.
Dr. Prakash Vasudev, Director of SITRA, delivered the vote of thanks
