GUWAHATI, Oct 25 - The Centre is committed to promotion and expansion of the silk industry in Assam and the North-Eastern region and a total of 24 sericulture projects have been sanctioned for this region.
Addressing the media here late on Tuesday evening, Chairman of Central Silk Board (CSB) KM Hanumantharayappa said that the projects are under various stages of implementation. Of the total 24 projects, six are exclusively for Assam. He said Silk Board is providing subsidies and other incentives to promote the sector.
�All four commercially exploited varieties of silk � mulberry, muga, eri and tasar � are produced in the North-east and this region contributes about 21 per cent of the total silk production in the country,� he said.
Hanumantharayappa said that the Centre has sanctioned six integrated sericulture projects under the North Eastern Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) for muga, eri and mulberry sericulture. The Centre has allotted Rs 185.11 crore for these projects which are under various stages of implementation.
Across the North-east, under the 24 NERTPS projects, the government is targeting to provide assistance to almost 44,000 stakeholders, including 7,100 in Assam.
He said that production of muga, eri and mulberry in Assam have gone up in recent times. Hanumantharayappa said eri production reached 3,600 tonne in 2016-17, while muga production was 141 tonne and mulberry output stood at 45 tonne.