Benefits of the domestic 'silk route'

India seems set to become the world's leading producer of silk and silk products by 2030, thanks to rapid strides in the cultivation of silkworms and production of silk fibre from their cocoons - technically termed sericulture.

- SURINDER SUD

The annual production of silk, estimated at 36,500 tonnes in 2022-23, is projected to surge to more than 50,000 tonnes by 2030, and surpass that of China, the world's largest silk producer. India's main focus now is on inducting modern technologies into this sector, where a sizable section of silk farmers is still following the age-old practices of silk production. The area under mulberry, castor, and other plants, whose leaves constitute the basic feed of silkworms, is also proposed to be expanded in several states. More importantly, efforts are afoot to encourage gainful uses of sericulture byproducts, some of which have great commercial potential. This would help augment the income of silk farmers and improve the quality of silk fibre, fabric, and other products, including silk garments.

Apart from the major silk-producing states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, some smaller players in this sector, such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, have also drawn up ambitious plans to promote sericulture. According to silk-industry sources, the sericulture market, estimated at worth over ₹53,000 crore in 2023, is expected to exceed ₹2 trillion by the early 2030s, registering a robust annual growth rate of over 15 per cent.