According to the Union Minister of Textiles K Sambasiva Rao, by 2016-17 raw silk production in the country should be doubled to 46,000 million tonne during the terminal year of 12th Plan, with an annual growth rate of 20-25 per cent in silk production. The area under mulberry cultivation should be raised from 1,96,000 hectares to 3,00,000 hectares by then.
The Central Silk Board and its research institutes should conduct more and more training programmes, covering larger number of beneficiaries involving various sericultural activities. Plantation development, disease management, silkworm seed production, quality cocoon production, and post-cocoon activities like silk reeling, spinning, weaving, processing, and design development and byproduct development activities would ensure self employment in the silk industry to boost their economic gains and returns, opines K S Rao.
Meanwhile, Rao launched a 10-ends concept model of automatic silk reeling machine developed by Central Silk Technological Research Institute, (CSTRI). Based on this, concept model 120 to 200 ends automatic silk reeling machines will be developed and this will help in reduction of manpower and improving the quality of raw silk equivalent to imported raw silk.