The Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT) scheme, operating under the Ministry of Textiles’ National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM), provides financial assistance to young innovators, scientists, technologists, and start-up ventures to translate ideas into commercial technologies and products in the technical textiles sector.

Overview

The GREAT scheme is a flagship initiative within the National Technical Textiles Mission (NTTM) that supports the start-up ecosystem by funding research, innovation, and commercialization of indigenous technical textile products. The total budget allocated to NTTM for the financial year 2026-27 is Rs. 256 crore, which includes provisions for releasing grants to start-ups under the GREAT scheme.

Funding and Benefits

Grants are provided to promote innovation, commercialization of indigenous technologies, and the development of value-added technical textile products. The anticipated economic impact is driven by robust collaborations between supported start-ups and established industry partners, ensuring market-ready commercialization through prototype development, field trials, and market launches. To date, 31 start-ups have been approved at a total cost of Rs. 15.40 crore, with Rs. 13.65 crore representing the Government of India share.

Eligibility and Evaluation

Eligible candidates include young innovators, scientists, technologists, and start-up ventures working in the technical textiles domain. An Evaluation and Monitoring Committee (EMC) has been constituted under NTTM to evaluate, monitor, and review the technical and financial parameters of start-up proposals. Based on the criteria laid out in the GREAT guidelines, the EMC submits its recommendations to the Empowered Programme Committee (EPC) under NTTM for final approval.

Approved Start-Up Projects

The following 31 start-up projects have been approved under the GREAT scheme:

• Warming and Cooling High Performance Textiles – Rs. 55,00,000
• Surgical simulation models based on textile materials for training of doctors – Rs. 50,00,000
• Development and commercialization of Industrial hemp pultrusion cord & composites – Rs. 66,16,500
• Smart Fabrics of Tomorrow: Nanofibers-Infused Textiles for Energy Generation and Sensing – Rs. 50,00,000
• High-performance tyre-yarns: green product by green process – Rs. 50,00,000
• Radome Integrated IFF Antenna – Rs. 50,00,000
• Development of Braided composites for use in Defense and Automobile application – Rs. 49,86,875
• Sustainable Processing of Technical Textiles with Emerging Technologies – Rs. 50,00,000
• Manufacturing of Nanomaterial based Smart Textiles – Rs. 50,00,000
• Development of Node Locked Three Dimensional (3D) material based advanced composite – Rs. 50,00,000
• Algae-Based coated textile as an alternative to leather/synthetic materials – Rs. 56,00,000
• Production & Scaleup of UniClenz – A zero waste, next generation, SMART, Self-Sanitizing Personal Protective Medical Apparel – Rs. 46,80,000
• Natural Anti Microbial Coated Textiles for Hospital Wears – Rs. 49,76,000
• Bioengineered Textiles & Materials Manufacturing – Rs. 50,00,000
• Novel E-Textiles Woven with Shape Memory Materials to Design Intelligent Wearables for Healthcare and Wellness Applications – Rs. 50,00,000
• Development of shrink-resistant, detergent washable, camouflage dyed, far infra-red wool clothing for protection in extreme cold conditions through plasma technology – Rs. 50,00,000
• Novel composite material based space deployable communication antenna – Rs. 56,50,000
• Design and Development of pilot scale innovative zero solid discharge (ZSD) system for resource recovery from final residue in textile and industrial ZLD plants – Rs. 47,82,250
• Smart Textile Wearable: Enhancing Mental Wellbeing Through Innovative Stress Management – Rs. 50,00,000
• Flushable Sanitary Pads as a Sustainable and Innovative Solution for Menstrual Hygiene – Rs. 56,00,000
• Development of anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant and UV-protective pineapple fabric as a sustainable and multi-functional protective clothing – Rs. 50,00,000
• Revolutionizing High-Performance Sustainable fibers with the Spider Silk Technology – Rs. 50,00,000
• Development of advanced medical textile products based on biomaterials – Rs. 32,50,000
• High-performance Sports gears for high-altitude Adventure sport & defense applications – Rs. 50,00,000
• Smart Textiles for Winter Thermal Comfort – Rs. 50,00,000
• Development of Cosmeto textiles / Wellness textiles utilizing Indian unconventional natural fibres and eco-friendly finishes – Rs. 50,00,000
• Smart Vest with Continuous Heart Rhythm Monitoring for Arrhythmia Detection – Rs. 50,00,000
• Development of Lightweight, Thermal, and Radiation Shielding Composite Tiles Using Technical Textiles for Space Applications – Rs. 23,98,000
• Textile waste composite panels for Building applications – Rs. 50,00,000
• Indigenous production of fine-count hemp yarn and its blends for the development of inherently antimicrobial Wound Dressing Material and Coveralls – Rs. 50,00,000
• Neosense: Comfyhug Vital Monitoring – Rs. 50,00,000

Application and Monitoring Process

A Review and Monitoring Committee has been constituted to assess and oversee the progress of the approved start-ups, with the authority to recommend the release of subsequent instalments of grants and project closure to the Empowered Programme Committee under NTTM. In addition, 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 potential start-up projects.

Contact and Guidelines

The complete GREAT scheme guidelines are available at https://nttm.texmin.gov.in/. Interested applicants may refer to the guidelines for detailed criteria, procedures, and submission requirements.