Sericulture, an agro-based rural industry has the highest potential for developing the rural economy.  Silk industry plays a major role in equity distribution, as silk is mainly purchased by urban rich and around 61 per cent of the final value of silk fabric is estimated to flow back to the rural farmers and reelers.  Around 60 per cent of the workers in various sericultural activities – starting from host plant cultivation and rearing of silkworms till the final production of fabric and garments – constitute women.  Silk industry, is an eco-friendly, sustainable and labour intensive economic activity.

Over the last three decades, India silk production has steadily grown outpacing  countries like Japan and erstwhile USSR which were once the leading silk producers.  India is now the second largest producer of raw silk in the World after China, with a production of about 19,690 tonnes in 2009-10.  This accounts for 15.5 per cent of global production.  India is also credited for being the only country producing all five distinct varieties of silk, namely, Mulberry, Tasar, Oak Tasar, Eri and Muga silks, along with the largest consumer of silk, with large imports of mulberry raw silk and silk fabrics from China.  Silk production in India has shown 7.2 per cent growth during 2009-10, over the previous year.  Vanya Silks such as Tasar, Eri and Muga, which is produced by the tribals  from Central and North Eastern India, has shown 22 per cent growth during 2009-10 over the previous year.  Vanya Silks have vast potential to be promoted as “Eco-Friendly Green Silks” and can create special market in the global market.

Taking into account the market opportunities available in the free-trade regime, the Textiles Ministry is looking not only at the increased production, but also at the quality product diversification, and competitive pricing through productivity improvements, for the overall development of the Indian sericulture and the silk industry.  The Central Silk Board has been consistently developing need-based cost cutting technologies,  and today, because of its efforts, India has become the pioneer in tropical sericulture technology.  Armed with this technology, the Board has evolved region specific mulberry varieties, and silkworm races suitable for producing Bivoltine cocoons of international quality silk and implementing Catalytic Development Programmes for upgrading the required infrastructure like independent silkworm rearing houses, modern rearing and cocooning equipments, drip irrigation kits, infrastructure support to private graineurs and augmentation of vanya silk host plantation.

Simultaneously, to reel these cocoons, the Central Silk Board is promoting better reeling practices through multi-end reeling machines supported by a contemporary technology package.  Automatic Silk reeling Machines have been imported from China for installation in the traditional silk producing States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which will produce import substitute international grade quality silk in bulk quantity.  With the increasing availability of good quality Bivoltine cocoons at prices commensurate with quality, apart from new entrepreneurs, even many traditional reelers have found business prospects in upgrading their conventional machinery, and have been able to produce better grades of fine mulberry silk.

Development of Vanya silks is the Board’s another area of focus.  The breakthrough achieved by the Research Institutes in engineering new motorized Tasar and Muga reeling and twisting machines, and the spinning wheel for Eri has dramatically improved the quality of non-mulberry yarns, besides reducing the drudgery.  Eri spun silk  mills have been established to produce high grade spun silk.  This has facilitated product diversification in the Vanya Silk Sector, which is crucial to boost production mostly in the tribal tracts of the country.  In the backdrop of technological capabilities already developed, many non- traditional States have now come forward to facilitate the production of high quality silk cocoons and yarn.  The Central Silk Board has taken up field trials of Laria Tasar eco race silkworm rearing on natural sal plantation and the results are encouraging.  This provides wide scope for increasing Tasar silk production to the tune of 8,000 tonnes during Twelth Plan ending March, 2017 from 3,987 tonnes during Eleventh Plan ending March, 2012.

Some of the steps which have been taken towards policy intervention are amending the Central Silk Board Act. The modifications inter-alia provid for quality standards for silkworm seeds, certification of silkworm seeds, quality norms for its import and export; The Central Silkworm Seed Regulations have recently been notified for the purpose; Anti-dumping duty has been imposed on silk yarn and fabrics imported from China which has helped to stabilize prices of silk yarn and fabric in domestic silk industry; National Fibre Policy has been drawn wherein emphasis has been given for strengthening the R&D and improving the quality and productivity; Sericulture has recently been included under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana scheme so that the benefits hitherto enjoyed by the agriculture farmers under the above scheme is extended to sericulture farmers also; to help the small weavers, 2500 tonnes of high grade silk is being imported from China through the National Handloom Development Corporation and the same will be distributed to them at an affordable price.