AP offers sops to promote jute industry

The State government is ready to allot land to develop exclusive industrial park for setting up jute and jute-related industries in the state, Lakshmi Parthasarathy, principal secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, government of Andhra Pradesh, said at a workshop on 'Prospects of jute products in Andhra Pradesh.'

"The state government has plenty of land. If the industry needs, we will provide land and necessary infrastructure for the development of jute industry in the state," she said.

To increase jute production, seed quality should be improved and particularly this industry need more research work to produce quality products, she said, adding, "The jute industry has asked for concessions on par with food processing industry, which the state government will take up with the Government of India at the earliest."

Andhra Pradesh is the second largest jute products producing state with 27 major jute industries after West Bengal, and there is a lot of scope for further development of jute industry in this state, according to Arun Bal, secretary, Jute Manufacturers Development Council (JMDC) and executive director, National Centre for Jute Diversification.

Due to good infrastructure facilities, cheap labour and investor- friendly industrial policy in the state, several jute industrialists are planning to shift their units from West Bengal to Andhra Pradesh, he said.

JMDC is implementing subsidy schemes to promote jute industries in the country. "Andhra Pradesh is the first state to utilise these subsidy schemes in the country," he said.

The workshop was jointly organised by the state government, Jute Manufacturers Development Council and the National Centre for Jute Diversification.