NEW DELHI, July 19: India is the second largest
producer of silk in the world and the total raw silk
production in the country increased by 10.52 per cent during
2018-19 over the previous year, Union Textiles Minister Smriti
Irani said in Lok Sabha on Friday.
Irani said among the four varieties of silk produced in
2018-19, Mulberry accounts for 71.50 per cent (25,213 MT),
Tussar 8.44 per cent (2,977 MT), Eri 19.40 per cent (6,839 MT)
and Muga 0.66 per cent (232 MT) of the provisional total raw
silk production of 35,261 MT.
“The total raw silk production in the country increased
by 10.52 per cent (35,261 Metric Tonne (MT)) during 2018-19
over the previous year 2017-18 (31,906 MT),” she said during
Question Hour.
The minister said the Central Silk Board (CSB), a
statutory body under the Ministry of Textiles is encouraging
production and export of silk.
To benefit farmers engaged in sericulture, CSB is
implementing a restructured Central Sector Scheme ‘Silk
Samagra’, which mainly focuses on improving quality and
productivity of domestic silk thereby reducing the country’s
dependence on imported silk.
Under the scheme, assistance is extended to sericulture
stakeholders for the beneficiary oriented components like,
raising of Kissan Nursery, Plantation with improved Mulberry
varieties, Irrigation, Chawki Rearing Centres with incubation
facility, construction of rearing houses besides others, she
said. (PTI)
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