Neelam Shami Rao
| Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J
P Sivakumar
| Photo Credit:
arranged
Central Silk Board has an ambitious target of doubling the country’s silk value chain, currently pegged at ₹55,000 crore, by 2030, said P. Sivakumar, Member Secretary, Central Silk Board, a body that works under the Ministry of Textiles and is responsible for the overall development of the country’s sericulture.
India currently produced 41,121 metric tonne of raw silk, of which over 70% is mulberry-based, while the remaining is eri, taser and muga and the production outlook for 2030 was 54,000 metric tonne, he told The Hindu.
“India produces high quality natural silk. The commodity has huge commercial value in the domestic as well as international markets. The board is looking at increasing the production of silk across the country by increasing land under cultivation and also enhancing productivity of existing silk farms across the country,’’ Mr. Sivakumar said.
According to him, to achieve these targets, mechanisation and use of technology will be given priority. All states, except Rajasthan (because of its warm weather), are producing silk currently, and Gujarat is the latest entrant with 100 farmers farming Eri (castor plant-based based) silk. Also, the board has conducteda survey in Rajasthan to explore its borders and fringes for silk cultivation.
Earlier, speaking on the sidelines of a Directors’ Conference of Sericulture Practicing States and UTs , Neelam Shami Rao, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles said, the country’s silk industry was already experiencing growth through increased production, diverse applications, and government initiatives like Silk Samagra (a scheme carried out by Central Silk Board to develop the entire sericulture industry and to help all ecosystem players),nearly all states were participating in silk production and new districts being added to the silk production map.
“We have added over 50 new districts on silk maps of the country over the last five six years and now we have some 476 producing districts,’’ Ms. Rao said.
She further said, by investing in silk production, India would be able to enhance the size of its silk market, and also triple its export.
“India has been at the forefront of the silk technology through Silk Samagra. The sector has been growing and receiving a lot of investments on the research side, on capacity building, on market development and promotion as well as the mechanisation and tech adoption,” she said.’
Ms Rao said the ministry was looking forward to increased participation fromstate government’s to further penetrate the silk economy in the country, both at domestic and international markets.
India exported silk worth ₹2, 300 crore last fiscal and it is expected to cross ₹2,500 crore in FY 26.
Published – January 03, 2026 08:16 pm IST
