NEW DELHI: India’s technical textile market could grow four fold to become a $37-billion industry by 2020, provided issues such as lack of investment and absence of research and development are addressed, a report by industry body Ficci said. According to the Ficci-Technopak report, the Indian technical textiles market has been registering a growth of 11.25%, which now stands at $8.3 billion. The growth of the sector is, however, marred by factors like lack of investment, absence of high quality R&D and database, it said. “The lack of mandatory rules for use of technical textile products, certification agencies, design standards, guidelines and skilled manpower are also hindering growth of the sector,” the chamber said. Technical textiles are materials and products used primarily for their technical and functional properties and not for use as apparel. Of the 12 technical textiles segments, the report identifies buildtech, geotech, meditech and protech would drive the growth of the sector.