TechnoSport, AIC IIT Delhi Team Up to Build India’s Sports-Textile Capabilities

TechnoSport, India’s largest activewear brand, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) IIT Delhi, under the Atal Innovation Mission supported by NITI Aayog, to establish T-CREST, the TechnoSport Center for Research and Entrepreneurship in Sports Textile, at IIT Delhi’s Sonipat campus. The initiative aims to build deeper scientific and engineering capabilities in India to develop world-class performance sportswear designed around the needs of Indian athletes and sporting conditions.

As part of the collaboration, TechnoSport will invest ₹4.5 crore over three years towards research, prototyping and capability building in sports textiles. The partnership will combine TechnoSport’s expertise in textiles, product development and manufacturing with IIT Delhi’s scientific and engineering know-how, creating a stronger bridge between research and high-performance product development.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Prof. Vivek V. Buwa, Deputy Director (Strategic & Planning), IIT Delhi, Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, MD FITT, IIT Delhi, Mr. Alok Pandey, CEO AIC IIT Delhi, Prof. Bipin Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering, IIT Delhi, and Puspen Maity, CEO, Technosport reflecting the initiative’s intersection of sport, science, manufacturing and technical textiles.

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address, referred to India’s progress across sports infrastructure, coaching, sports medicine and sports nutrition, and to the opportunities emerging within the wider support system around sport.

At elite levels of sport, apparel can influence how effectively an athlete manages heat, moisture, movement and comfort. T-CREST will enable the study of these interactions through the lens of the athlete, the sport, the environment and the garment, with the objective of translating scientific insight into better-performing and commercially viable sportswear. Athletes, coaches, textile scientists and sports-science specialists will contribute to the research and validation process.

T-CREST will be housed within the Atal Incubation Centre at IIT Delhi’s Sonipat campus, which is a world-class deep tech incubator established under the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), an initiative by NITI Aayog, Government of India, providing access to a rich innovation-led environment. The ambition of this engagement extends beyond individual products and aims to engage with India’s start-up ecosystem, supporting the development of new ideas and help build an indigenous base of sports-textile technologies, scientific expertise and specialist talent, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities across India’s sports-textile ecosystem. The opportunity is expected to expand significantly as India’s sports economy grows.

By bringing researchers, students, entrepreneurs, athletes and industry experts together, T-CREST aims to help convert scientific research into scalable sports-technology ventures, in the vicinity of Haryana’s well-established sporting ecosystem, where most sportspersons who represent India train.

The Google-Deloitte Think Sports: Unlocking India’s $130B Sports Potential report projects India’s sports market to reach $130 billion by 2030, with employment across the sector increasing from 4.7 million to 10.5 million, translating into nearly 58 lakh additional jobs.

Speaking on the MoU, Sunil Jhunjhunwala, Co-Founder and Managing Director, TechnoSport, said, “India has the scientific talent, manufacturing depth and sporting ambition to create world-class performance sportswear here. Through our partnership with IIT Delhi, T-CREST gives us the opportunity to combine rigorous scientific research with TechnoSport’s experience in textiles, product development and manufacturing. Our ₹4.5 crore commitment is about building the science, capabilities and talent required to develop high-performance products in India that can stand alongside the best globally.”

Speaking on the MoU exchange, Puspen Maity, CEO, Technosport, said, “India’s opportunity is not just to develop new textile technologies, but to turn them into commercially viable products that can reach millions of consumers. T-CREST brings together scientific know-how, product development and execution with our understanding of manufacturing, markets and consumers, helping take an innovation from the lab to a product that can be successfully built, launched and adopted at scale.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Alok Pandey, CEO, AIC IIT Delhi, said, “T-CREST is an opportunity to bring researchers, innovators, industry, coaches and athletes together to build technology-led solutions for the future of sports in India. By connecting IIT Delhi’s research capabilities with Technosport’s product development and manufacturing expertise, we aim to create a stronger pathway from research and innovation to real-world sporting applications. I also thank Prof. Bipin Kumar from IIT Delhi’s Department of Textile and Fibre Engineering for his instrumental role in shaping this partnership and his continued support in taking this initiative forward.”

The collaboration will create opportunities for IIT Delhi faculty, students, researchers and innovators to work closely with TechnoSport’s R&D and product teams, strengthening industry-academia exchange and helping develop the next generation of specialists in performance textiles.