CCEA approves Rs 2,161 cr for silk industry development

The Union Cabinet today approved "Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry" for sericulture sector with an outlay of Rs 2,161.68 crore for three years ending March 31, 2020.

"The scheme is expected to increase the silk production from the level of 30,348 MTs during 2016-17 to 38,500 MTs by end of 2019-20," said an official release after the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) here.

In a tweet, Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said the initiative aims at making India self-sufficient in silk production through R&D, technology upgradation and improvement in silk quality.

The scheme will help to increase productive employment from 85 lakhs to 1 crore persons by 2020, it added.

The scheme aims to increase silk output through interventions like production of import substitute bivoltine silk to the tune of 8,500 MTs per annum by 2020.

There is a component for research and development to improve productivity from the present level of 100 Kgs to 111 kgs of silk per hectare of plantation by the end of 2019-20. Besides, effort will be to promote large scale propagation of improved reeling machines under Make in India programme.

"The scheme will promote Women Empowerment and livelihood opportunities to SC/ST and other weaker sections of the society," the release said.

The government further said that the latest scheme is improvement over the earlier one.

The central sector scheme aims to achieve self-sufficiency in silk production by 2022.

To achieve this, the release said production of high grade silk in India will reach 20,650 MTs by 2022 from the current level of 11,326 MTs (million tonnes) thereby reducing imports to zero.

Brand promotion of Indian silk will be encouraged through quality certification by Silk Mark not only in the domestic market but in the Export market as well.

"High quality standards in silkworm seed, cocoon and raw silk will be promoted by setting up cocoon testing centres and silk testing centres," it said.

Also, efforts will be strengthened for collaborating with NIFT and NID for support on design and product development.